As Blue Jays injury list piles up, Guerrero Jr. reaps fitness rewards

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Behind closed doors of the Blue Jays front office — and among some in the team’s dugout, for that matter — the day that Vlad Guerrero Jr. took control of his career trajectory couldn’t come soon enough.

The sooner the better to renew the promise he had shown through his teens and at the 2019 Home Run Derby and to subsequently cash in on all that talent.

The solution, and thus the timeline, was always going to be in Guerrero’s hands, however, with the player ultimately determining when to knuckle down.

So what clicked with Vlad to make the commitment to get fit enough to do what he’s been doing to the baseball a dozen games into the 2021 season?

“One day I just got up from my bed and I said enough is enough,” Guerrero said prior to Thursday’s opener of a three-game series against the Royals in Kansas City. “I’ve got to start working really hard because I know what I’m capable of doing.

“And that’s when it started.”

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Where it will end remains to be seen, but as the Jays started the season with a 6-6 record, the ceiling has been raised towards those original projections.

After getting two hits in four at-bats against the Yankees on Wednesday, Guerrero has reached safely in his first 12 games of the season. His 16-for-41 success rate clocks in at a batting average of .390 and prior to Thursday action had reached base 27 times, second-most in the majors.

None of this is a surprise, but there had been some concern that Guerrero wouldn’t have that look-in-the-mirror moment he hasn’t been shy to mention. Criticism was starting to pile on Guerrero — some justified, particularly given how he reported to summer camp last summer. But some of the knocks were over the top.

“A lot of people were really tough on him,” said DH/first baseman Rowdy Tellez. “He’s young. Really young. I think you just have to understand it’s going to take some time to get to who he is.

“He’s made some slight adjustments and changed his body. He looks phenomenal and he’s got a lot of confidence.”

That confidence has become infectious in the Jays lineup as Guerrero continues to get on base with regularity, adding to the danger factor of the Jays lineup.

With caution to the diminished sample size, his explosive natural ability has boldly been on display. Guerrero has an MLB-leading nine batted balls of 110 miles per hour or more and on Thursday said the confidence achieved from those results has further fuelled his commitment to remain fit.

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“It’s just Vladdy, man,” Tellez said. “That’s who we expected. This is the guy who all the hype was about. He’s going to be one of the best players in baseball for a very long time and rightfully so because he works so hard.”

ROMANO, STRIPLING LATEST TO IL

While Guerrero is a picture of health, the same cannot be said for the Jays pitching staff as a decimating run of injuries continues to pile up.

Two more hurlers were added to the 10-day IL on Thursday — reliever Jordan Romano, with right ulnar neuritis, and starter Ross Stripling, with a right flexor strain.

The list of Jays pitchers currently out includes, in no particular order, Nate Pearson, Kirby Yates, Julian Merrywether, Thomas Hatch, Tyler Chatwood, Stripling and Romano — and all as the team is in a jammed early-season schedule.

The Romano injury came as the latest blow, and partially out of the blue. Though the hard-throwing right-hander didn’t look sharp in his latest outing — allowing a pair of hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning on Tuesday – he was on the field throwing before Thursday’s game in K.C.

When something clearly was off, the Jays wasted no time in shutting down the Canadian and placing him on the IL.

With Stripling also headed to the infirmary, the Jays recalled Anthony Kay to make the start for the first of four against the Royals.

The Jays were not only putting faith in Kay for his third career start but walking further away from struggling Tanner Roark. Manager Charlie Montoyo acknowledged that the team considered Kay, Roark and Tommy Milone but went with the lefty.

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JUST SAY UNCLE

Kansas City’s Kauffman stadium was a cool venue for Josh Palacios to play his first road game in the big leagues, not to mention his first game in a major league stadium.

Brooklyn native Palacios got some friendly advice from his uncle Rey, who played for the Royals from 1988 to 1990.

“Hey said to take a nice look at left-centre so you can get a good grasp of how hard I hit that ball on my walk-off grand slam.”

Yes, Rey Palacios did just that to lead the Royals past the Red Sox on May 14, 1990.

TIME TO SPLIT

While his bat has garnered the most attention, Guerrero has drawn attention for his defensive play at first base. He’s flashed a quick glove to pick balls out of the dirt and shown impressive dexterity in doing the splits while stretching.

“That’s one of the parts of my game I’ve worked on,” Guerrero said. “The first thing I do here when I get to the weight room is a lot of stretch work and work on my flexibility because I know I’m probably going to need it as you guys can see.”