(Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
MLB pitchers probably know it by this point, but it never hurts to send out a reminder: there is no fooling Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The 2021 runner-up in the AL MVP race is locked in to start the season, and numbers are the perfect evidence.
He is hitting .407/.500/.667 with two home runs in the early going.
His OPS is up to an incredible 1.167.
But the most impressive part of his statistical profile is not his batting average, the home runs, or the OPS.
It’s how often he can make hard contact and how difficult it is to strike him out.
“Most PA this season among players with 1 or 0 strikeouts: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 34 (1 K), Salvador Perez: 24 (1), Willson Contreras: 18 (1), Martin Maldonado: 18 (1). Guerrero ALSO has 17 hard-hit batted balls, most in MLB,” MLB stats expert Sarah Langs tweeted.
most PA this season among players with 1 or 0 strikeouts:
Vladimir Guerrero Jr: 34 (1 K)
Salvador Perez: 24 (1)
Willson Contreras: 18 (1)
Martin Maldonado: 18 (1)
Guerrero ALSO has 17 hard-hit batted balls, most in MLB
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 7, 2023
That stat is absolutely unbelievable.
He has 34 plate appearances, and half of them – 17 to be exact – have resulted in a hard-hit ball (over 95 mph of exit velocity).
He has just one (!) strikeout.
Here is an idea for Statcast to track: hard-hit balls per strikeout.
Guerrero would comfortably lead that hypothetical category by a mile with his 17:1.
He looks like a man on a mission this year, after his Blue Jays were knocked out of the playoffs much earlier than everybody expected.
This time, he wants to go all the way.
There is enough talent in Toronto to dream about a World Series appearance.
They will go as far as Guerrero and Bo Bichette take them.
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