After going 1-for-4 with yet another extra-base hit in Wednesday’s loss to the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr.‘s OPS in the month of July dropped to 1.112.
While Guerrero’s heater might not be enough to earn him the American League July Player of the Month honours — thanks to Bobby Witt Jr. — it has completely altered the shape of his season.
The 25-year-old has looked every bit the part of the “generational” talent that he was supposed to be coming up through the Blue Jays system, and even his now former teammates are impressed by the level he’s been playing at.
“What he’s done the past month and a half is absolutely incredible,” the newest member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kevin Kiermaier, said while appearing on Blair & Barker Wednesday. “He is on a tear, and I tell him that all the time. I was glad I had a moment with him the other day, and I said, ‘I would come out and pay to watch you play when you have this demeanour, this attitude showing up.’
“Ever since that haircut, I don’t know what it’s about, but he just hit a different gear and that’s always in him.”
Since finishing as the American League MVP runner-up in 2021, Guerrero has set a bar that would be near impossible for most players to reach. 48 home runs, 111 RBIs and a .311/.401/.601 slash line aren’t exactly numbers that are reached all that often in the modern era of MLB.
It’s those expectations that Kiermaier thinks have been unfairly placed at the four-time All-Star’s feet.
“He has to live up to so much… Last year, I know people give him a lot of grief, but I think he hit like .278, (26) homers and (94) RBIs and that’s a down year for Vladdy,” Kiermaier said.
After Guerrero’s 2023 campaign saw him finish with a .788 OPS, there were concerns if he would ever be able to replicate the heights that he reached in 2021.
But as the calendar turns to August, Guerrero has returned to his place among the best hitters in the game.
“Vladdy is the best player in the big league right now,” Kiermaier said. “He is so locked in. Hits everything as hard as can be. The other night, hits three doubles, a homer in the second half of that doubleheader.
“He is all sorts of locked in right now and a phenomenal human being, I love him. So, if I was GM, I would be paying the man, but I’m a centre-fielder so it doesn’t matter what I think.”
Guerrero, of course, is scheduled to become a free agent following the 2025 season and despite constant trade speculation leading up to the deadline, has continued to talk about his desire to stay in Toronto long-term.
“He’s gonna be incredible for years to come. He just has ‘It’,” Kiermaier said. “I’m stating the obvious, but he’s on a different planet right now.”
