Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

2.1. Birth and Family

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was born on March 16, 1999, in Montreal, Quebec, while his father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., was playing for the Montreal Expos. As a result of his birth in Canada, he holds Canadian citizenship. His mother is Riquelma Ramos, who learned to speak Canadian French during her time living in Montreal. He is also the nephew of former MLB player Wilton Guerrero. His godfather is Pedro Martínez, a fellow Dominican and former teammate of his father on the Expos. Vladimir Jr. has at least seven siblings, as his father, Vladimir Sr., has eight children with five different women. His cousin, Gabriel Guerrero, also plays professional baseball. In January 2023, his half-brother Pablo signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent, and in January 2024, another half-brother, Vladi Miguel Guerrero, signed with the New York Mets.

2.2. Childhood and Development

Guerrero spent most of his early childhood in the Dominican Republic after his mother moved there following his parents' separation when he was very young. He split his time between Santiago with his mother, Don Gregorio with his uncle Wilton, and during the summers, in the United States with his father. His uncle Wilton Guerrero was instrumental in his early baseball training, with Vladimir Jr. stating that "everything I've learned in baseball has been from him. I've been practicing with him since I was five. He's the one who taught me to practice well." A memorable moment from his childhood occurred in 2003 when, at four years old, he joined his father on the field at Olympic Stadium during Vladimir Sr.'s final game for the Expos. Wearing a child's Expos uniform, he was encouraged by his father to remove his helmet and wave to the cheering crowd, a moment that has been described as an iconic photograph.

3.1. Minor League Career

Eligible for free agency in 2015, Guerrero was highly touted by scouts, with Baseball America ranking him as the top international free agent and MLB.com placing him fourth overall. On July 2, 2015, at the age of 16, he officially signed with the Toronto Blue Jays for 3.90 M USD. He began the 2016 minor league season at extended spring training camp before making his professional debut with the Rookie Advanced Bluefield Blue Jays on June 23. He hit his first professional home run the following day and recorded his first multi-home run game on August 12. Later that August, he was named the Appalachian League's All-Star at third base. In 62 games for Bluefield in 2016, he batted .271 with eight home run, 46 runs batted in (RBI), and 15 stolen bases. Heading into the 2017 minor league season, MLB ranked him as the third-best prospect at third base.

Guerrero started the 2017 season with the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts, hitting his first home run of the season on April 7. His strong performance earned him a spot as a Midwest League All-Star on June 7, and on June 29, he was named to the World team roster for the 2017 All-Star Futures Game. Following the Futures Game, the Blue Jays promoted him to the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays. On August 31, his home run against the Clearwater Threshers secured a playoff berth for Dunedin in the Florida State League. He concluded the 2017 regular season with a .323 batting average, 13 home runs, and 76 RBI in 119 games, demonstrating excellent plate discipline with 76 walks against 62 strikeouts, and an impressive .910 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). On September 6, he was recognized as ESPN's Prospect of the Year. During the offseason, he played 26 games for the Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Winter League.

Entering the 2018 season, Guerrero was widely considered the top prospect in the Blue Jays organization by both MLB and Baseball America. He began the season with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. In April, he led the Eastern League with a .398 batting average and 30 RBI, and was named the Eastern League's Player of the Month for May after batting .438 with nine home runs and 28 RBI. On June 6, he sustained a strained patellar ligament in his left knee, sidelining him for at least four weeks. Upon his return, on July 28, it was announced he would be promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons following his father's induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 61 games with New Hampshire, he hit .402 with 14 home runs and 60 RBI. He was later added to the roster of the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) on August 30. During 2019 spring training, Guerrero suffered an oblique strain on March 8, which ruled him out for the remainder of spring training. This injury occurred amidst discussions regarding whether the Blue Jays would keep him in the minor leagues to potentially manipulate his MLB service time, delaying his free agency eligibility until after the 2025 season.

3.2. Major League Debut and Rookie Season (2019)

On April 24, 2019, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would be called up from Triple-A Buffalo on April 26. Prior to his call-up, he was considered the top prospect in all of professional baseball, having hit .367/.424/.700 with three home runs and eight RBI during an eight-game stint with Buffalo that season.

He made his MLB debut on April 26 against the Oakland Athletics, going hitless in his first three at-bats before hitting a double in the bottom of the ninth inning. On May 11, he recorded his first multi-hit game and reached base safely four times. His first major league home run came on May 14 against the San Francisco Giants' Nick Vincent at Oracle Park in the first inning. At 20 years and 59 days old, Guerrero became the youngest Blue Jay to hit a home run, surpassing Danny Ainge's previous record by 18 days. He followed this with another home run in the sixth inning off Reyes Moronta in the same game. He continued his power surge by hitting two more home runs in the subsequent series against the Chicago White Sox, one of which famously bounced off the glove of center fielder Leury Garcia before going over the wall. His impressive performance, which included four home runs over a six-game road trip, earned him the American League Player of the Week Award, making him the youngest Blue Jay to receive the honor. On May 22, he hit his first home run at the Rogers Centre off Rick Porcello of the Boston Red Sox. On May 31, Guerrero's sixth home run of the month, hit against the Colorado Rockies, marked the 1,135th home run in May throughout Major League Baseball, setting a new MLB record for most home runs in a single month.

On July 8, Guerrero participated in the Home Run Derby, where he set a new single-round home run record with 40 blasts during a three-overtime semifinal against Joc Pederson. He also broke the record for most home runs in a single derby with a total of 91, although he ultimately lost the final round to Pete Alonso. For the 2019 season, Guerrero batted .272 with a .339 on-base percentage and a .433 slugging percentage, hitting 15 home runs and driving in 69 RBI in 464 at-bats. He also hit a ball with the highest exit velocity in MLB in 2019, recorded at 118.9 mph.

3.3. Toronto Blue Jays Seasons

3.3.2. 2021 Season

Guerrero entered the 2021 MLB season significantly lighter, having lost 42 lb ^{(42 lb)} since July 2020 through a dedicated weight loss regimen. This reduction in weight made him feel "quicker, stronger and more resilient." He began the season as the Blue Jays' primary first baseman, also making routine starts as the designated hitter.

On April 27, 2021, Guerrero achieved his first career three-homer game, which included a grand slam off Washington Nationals starter Max Scherzer, contributing to a seven-RBI performance. Despite setting Home Run Derby records in 2019, he declined an invitation to the 2021 Home Run Derby on June 21, stating he wanted to use the time to "refresh mentally" for the second half of the season. On June 26, Guerrero hit his 50th career home run in his 258th career game, reaching the milestone in the same number of games as his father. The MLB announced on June 27 that Guerrero was a voting finalist for the starting first base position at the 2021 All-Star Game in Colorado, having led all MLB players in Phase 1 of voting with 2,704,788 votes. He was named the American League Player of the Week on June 28, following a streak of home runs in three consecutive games, seven RBI, and a .391/.481/.826 slash line. This was his first Player of the Week honor since August 2019.

On July 1, Guerrero was named the starting first baseman for the American League in the All-Star Game. During the game, he hit the 200th home run in All-Star Game history and became part of the third father-son duo to hit home runs in All-Star Games. He was subsequently named the game's Most Valuable Player, making him the first Blue Jays player to win the award, the first Canadian citizen to win, and the youngest All-Star Game MVP at 22 years and 119 days, surpassing Ken Griffey Jr.'s record. On September 6, in a game against the New York Yankees, Guerrero hit his 40th home run of the season, joining his father as the second father-son duo in MLB history to each have a 40-home run season in their careers, following Cecil Fielder and his son Prince.

Guerrero concluded the 2021 season batting .311/.401/.601. He tied for the major league lead in home runs with Salvador Pérez (48), led the majors in runs scored (123), and led in total bases (363). He received the American League Hank Aaron Award and the Tip O'Neill Award for 2021, but finished second in the American League MVP voting behind Shohei Ohtani.