Vladimir Guerrero Jr., widely considered one of the top prospects in baseball, will be called up by the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday and is expected to make his major league debut, manager Charlie Montoyo announced.
Guerrero, a 20-year-old third baseman, was No. 2 on ESPN insider Keith Law’s 2019 top prospects list. The Jays have yet to announce a corresponding roster move.
Guerrero hit .381 with 20 homers and 78 RBIs in 95 games while rocketing through four levels of minor league ball last season.
There was a chance he could have made the Blue Jays’ big league roster out of spring training, but a strained oblique early in spring camp ruined any chance of that.
“It’s a big, big moment for the Toronto Blue Jays,” Montoyo said. “Hopefully he becomes what everybody thinks he’s gonna become, and that’s gonna be good for all of us — for Toronto, the city of Toronto, the Blue Jays, the organization.”
Guerrero has continued to perform this season with Triple-A Buffalo, hitting .367 with 3 homers and 8 RBIs in 8 games, including a home run in Wednesday’s game.
Toronto will host Oakland on Friday for the start of a three-game series, with right-hander Mike Fiers scheduled to start for the A’s and Marcus Stroman taking the hill for the Blue Jays.
Guerrero’s father, Vladimir, played 16 seasons in the majors and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.