Vladimir Guerrero Jr. called up to Triple-A, but don’t expect him in Majors this season

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the 19-year-old Toronto Blue Jays top prospect, is being called up … to Triple-A Buffalo.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is taking another step on his way to the big leagues.

The Toronto Blue Jays announced on Saturday that the 19-year-old mega-prospect is being promoted to Triple-A Buffalo. His debut will likely happen on Tuesday, after he attends his father’s Hall of Fame induction this weekend.

Guerrero Jr. signed with the Blue Jays as a 16-year-old in 2015. Since then, he has established himself as the top prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.  He is hitting .402 with 14 home runs and 60 RBIs in 61 games for Double-A New Hampshire this season. After returning from a knee injury on July 19, he has a .402 AVG with three home runs in seven games.

His first game for Buffalo is expected to draw plenty of interest around baseball. The Bisons have already announced they will open their gates earlier than usual on Tuesday to let fans watch Guerrero Jr. take batting practice. The Bisons begin a series with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs that night.

Guerrero Jr. is taking a different route to the Major Leagues than his Hall of Fame father did. Vladimir Guerrero never played in Triple-A before being called up by the Montreal Expos in 1996. The elder Guerrero hit .318 with 449 home runs in a 16-year career, spent mostly with Montreal and the Los Angeles Angels. He won the American League MVP Award in 2005 with the Angels.

Don’t expect Vlad Jr. in a Blue Jays uniform anytime soon, however. Team President Mark Shapiro, in an interview with SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio last week, said the team is taking it slow with Guerrero Jr.’s development and won’t call him up until he is ready.

“Great players have a way of deciding for themselves when they’re going to come up,” Shapiro said. “We want to make sure that he has the best foundation possible for him.”

“There’s certainly going to have to be, for a player that young, some finishing done at the Major League level. But we want to make sure … that we have this guy with as good a foundation possible.”

The Blue Jays will likely have Guerrero Jr. take the same route as Kris Bryant did for the Chicago Cubs. In Bryant’s case, the Cubs kept him in Triple-A for seven games in 2015 in order to keep an extra year of team control. The Atlanta Braves did the same thing with their top prospect, Ronald Acuna, for 23 games this season. If the Blue Jays have a similar plan for Guerrero Jr., he won’t be in the Majors until mid-April of next season at the earliest.

The Blue Jays’ other top prospect, Bo Bichette, son of former Major Leaguer Dante Bichette, is remaining in New Hampshire for now. With the Jays in rebuild mode, however, the time for Vlad Jr. and Bichette to lead the team isn’t too far ahead.