For Vladimir Guerrero Jr, the signs were there. The positives, the markers of breakout and key indicators that things were going to be OK and soon. Those signs are even easier to see if you do nothing but look for them, telling yourself you saw something that wasn’t really there.
Every line drive is a light at the end of the tunnel rather than every ground ball being the train. It’s easy to get too cute when you’re “analyzing” baseball in this way, easy to focus too much on process with the results being a happy accident and the product of good work.
On Friday night, against tough teen Matt Manning, Vlad Jr produced a sharp ground ball to the right side that went for a single. As I am wont to do, I gushed about a simple base hit the other way.
It was a great swing and it definitely seemed like he was looking for a breaking ball but Manning instead doubled up on the fastball. That Guerrero was able to stay back and still drive that pitch hard was indeed a good sign.
It was the second opposite field single Guerrero managed off Manning that day, the first being more a flare that went for a double. Handling good fastballs and staying ready for whatever comes your way is a great sign that a hitter is getting back on track.
Do you know what is an even better sign? Hitting an absolute pissrod bullet into the second deck.
Better yet? Crushing a hanging cookie for your second bomb of the day to ice the game.
Those are the things you love to see. Hitting hard ground balls and demonstrating the ability to adjust? Those are huge. That’s the difference between being a run-of-the-mill slugger and a truly elite hitter, one of the best in the game. But man, there’s something to be said for not letting a pitcher get away with their mistakes. Make them pay! Do damage! Hooting and/or hollering!
I could just as easily spend 400 words extolling the virtue of Vlad Jr’s low strikeout approach at the plate, going on about how his sixth inning groundout against Dillon Tate helped the Jays nudge across a few runs as it advanced the runners and setup Bo Bichette’s run scoring single and later Teoscar Hernández’s big double. But home runs are the easiest way to put runs on the board. They have “run” right there in the name!
Is Vlad Jr all the way back or just facing the Orioles? These are the questions we need not answer today. His process looks good and the results look even better. It’s the best of both worlds as August turns to September and the opportunities to thrust the Blue Jays back into the playoff race come fast and furious.