MLB rumors: 5 prospects who can help Blue Jays in 2019
By Shoaib Alli
1. Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., 3B
Was there any question this would be the name at the top of the list? After all, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is not just the Blue Jays’ top ranked prospect, he is the No. 1 prospect in all of Major League Baseball.
If the polished hitting, the home runs, the on-field play doesn’t do it for you, let Blue Jays bench coach Dave Hudgens put it more succinctly.
“Guerrero sticks out,” said Hudgens during Spring Training. “His bat speed, his bat-to-ball skills.”
General Manager Ross Atkins also clearly felt very positively about Guerrero Jr, praising the young prospect down in Dunedin.
“Could he come up and have really good at bats?” asked Atkins during Grapefruit League action. “Probably better than anyone in the minor leagues at this point, sure.”
The trade of Kendrys Morales probably opens up a spot for Guerrero Jr., but his service time has become a huge issue – the MLB policy that says any player who spends 172 days or more on an active, major league roster gets credited with one year of service time. In other words, in order to retain an extra year of his services before free agency, the Blue Jays will be keeping Guerrero Jr. down in the minors until at least after mid-April.
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After suffering an oblique injury vs. the Pirates on March 8, the team announced that he’ll miss at least three weeks as he recovers. While it does appear he’s progressing ahead of schedule, that would seem to take care of the service time issue from a Blue Jays perspective – even so, when he does come up to Toronto, it’ll likely provide a spark both on-field with teammates, and off-field with the fans.