Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s first all-star season shaping up to be an all-time great one for the Blue Jays

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This article was published 13/07/2021 (1590 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The last time Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made an appearance during Major League Baseball’s all-star week festivities he required a special invitation. This year, he rolls into Denver as one of the game’s brightest stars.

If it wasn’t for two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani, or the recent “sticky stuff” scandal, Guerrero would probably be the biggest story in baseball. As it stands, he’ll have to share the spotlight at Coors Field but that should suit Guerrero just fine. After all, he’s pretty much guaranteed to be back for an encore.

The numbers Guerrero is producing this year are straight out of a video game set to rookie mode. He ranks first in average (. 332), on-base percentage (. 430), RBIs (73) and on-base plus slugging (1.089). Second in offensive WAR (4.4) and home runs (28) and third in runs (68). Pick whichever leaderboard you want, it doesn’t matter, Guerrero’s name can be found on all of them.

The best offensive season in Blue Jays’ history arguably belongs to Carlos Delgado. In 2003, the former slugger hit .302 with 42 homers while leading the majors with 145 RBIs and a 1.019 OPS en route to a second-place finish in voting for the MVP award behind Alex Rodriguez. Delgado’s performance that season has become the gold standard to which all Jays hitters that came after him are compared.

Jose Bautista likely owns the second-best overall results. In 2011, he finished third in voting for the AL MVP with a .302 average while leading the majors in home runs (43), walks (132) and OPS (1.056). Also worth a mention is George Bell’s MVP season in 1987 and John Olerud’s flirtation with .400 in 1993.

Guerrero, who will bat second behind Ohtani on Tuesday night, still has almost a half season to go but he has a shot at putting together a year that rivals any of those. In an era defined by strikeouts, spin rates and a lack of contact, the Dominican star has made it look easy. There have been three games all year that Guerrero didn’t reach safely and only Pittsburgh’s Adam Frazier has been on base more.

The laid-back and affable Guerrero who stepped onto the field this week in Denver is much different than the version from two years ago. Back then, Guerrero wasn’t an all-star, he was a player who was transitioning from hotshot prospect to a regular big leaguer. A spot on the all-star team was still just a dream. Instead he was there to put on a show in the home run derby. For the game itself, he was nothing more than a fan.

And what a display that derby turned out to be. Guerrero set records for the most home runs in a single round (29) and the most in the entire competition (91). Guerrero took so many swings that night he ran out of gas and couldn’t beat Mets first baseman Pete Alonso in the final round, but the explosion of power was enough to announce his arrival on the world stage.

Fatigue was one reason Guerrero declined an offer at a rematch on Monday night, choosing instead to watch from the sidelines as Alonso and others went to work. But that exhibition means little in the grand scheme of things. What’s far more important is the coming out party Guerrero has been enjoying all season as one of the game’s top talents. And to think, a year ago this guy was batting just .262 with nine homers in 60 games.

Even though Guerrero belongs to the only team that normally plays its home games outside of the U.S., he’s shaping up to be one of the sport’s most marketable stars. The latest example of that came Monday afternoon when it was announced that Guerrero signed on with Michael Jordan’s Jumpman for a star-studded roster that includes Manny Machado, David Price and CC Sabathia among others. A countless number of other endorsements should soon follow.

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Guerrero’s stock is still rising as improbable as that may seem, but the overall numbers can’t get much better than this. The son of a Hall of Famer is putting together a season for the ages and the third-place Jays will have to go on a run during the second half to make sure it doesn’t go to waste. Delgado and Bautista’s career years didn’t result in a single meaningful game being played in September, a repeat of that would be considered a failure no matter how impressive Guerrero looks along the way.

Of course, Guerrero isn’t the only deserving all star the Jays have on display this week. Second baseman Marcus Semien and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez will join him in the starting lineup, batting sixth and eighth respectively, with shortstop Bo Bichette available off the bench. This marks the first time the Jays have sent at least four position players to the all-star game since 1993 and if memory serves correctly that worked out well in the end.

The only thing standing in the way of Guerrero and a potential MVP season — assuming he stays healthy — is Ohtani, who received special permission from the commissioner’s office to start Tuesday’s game as a pitcher and designated hitter. Based on the offensive numbers, Guerrero has the clear edge in just about everything except for home runs. But once Ohtani’s 3.49 ERA across 67 innings is factored in, he becomes almost impossible to beat unless there’s a major regression or injury during the second half.

MVP or not, Guerrero is here to stay as one of the most recognizable faces in the game. He announced his arrival two years ago in the derby, but this has been the season Guerrero proved he belonged. The big personality possesses an even bigger bat, and the Jays should feel fortunate their top-5 talent isn’t going anywhere any time soon.

Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @GregorChisholm or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca