Feb 24, 2019
The Mitchell Report: Vladdy Jr. makes his spring debut
All eyes were on baseball's top prospect, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as he made his spring training debut in the Toronto Blue Jays' 9-8 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Scott Mitchell has more from Sarasota.
SARASOTA, Fla. — Each and every day, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is asked about his short-term goals, long-term vision, and just about everything in between.
Each and every day, he talks about just going about his work, trying to improve, and things will fall into place.
Except that he doesn’t see being the face of the Toronto Blue Jays as work.
“I don’t see it as a job,” said Guerrero, who made his Grapefruit League debut Sunday at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota against the Baltimore Orioles. “To me, I do it because I like it, I enjoy it, and I see it as something I love doing every day.”
It was a quiet day out of the No. 5 spot in the lineup for Vladdy Jr., who’s used to making loud noises with his bat.
In the top of the first, he grounded out to short.
His second at-bat featured a nubber to the pitcher, one that he beat out and would later come around to score on Dwight Smith Jr.’s single.
The slide had flair that was noticed by teammates.
“They all laughed about it, but my hand fell and I didn’t want it to get injured, so I was protecting it and decided to just let my body go to protect my arm,” Guerrero said.
An underrated part of Guerrero’s game is his base-running, which scouts at the Arizona Fall League last year talked about extensively as mature beyond his years.
His day ended after a lazy fly ball to right-centre, replaced at third base by veteran Eric Sogard.
Sunday marked the first time manager Charlie Montoyo had seen Guerrero play live in an actual game.
“For a big man, he runs pretty good, and for a big man he moves pretty good at third base,” Montoyo said. “So far he looks pretty good to me.”
Montoyo also helped Guerrero ease into spring action by starting two Spanish-speaking players alongside him, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. at shortstop and Richard Urena at second base.
“In every inning, we were talking about the adjustments we needed to make and how to get better,” Guerrero said. “Every inning there was just great communication between the three of us.”
REID-FOLEY HAPPY WITH DEBUT
It was a tale of two innings for Sean Reid-Foley on Sunday in Sarasota.
Making his first start of the spring, Reid-Foley struggled early, allowing two of the first four Orioles hitters to reach, before third baseman Rio Ruiz belted a fastball over the wall for a three-run homer.
Reid-Foley then settled down to retire the side in order in his second, and final, inning of work.
“Obviously, you don’t want to give up a home run, but it is what it is,” the moustached right-hander said in the clubhouse after his outing. “Just got the work in that I thought I needed, especially with the fastball.”
Improving the command of his four-seam fastball is a point of emphasis for Reid-Foley, who walked 21 batters in 33.1 innings in his seven major-league starts last season.
The slider, however, is a dominant offering, holding opposing batters to a measly .095 average last season.
He also has a sinker, changeup and curveball to fine tune this spring.
“All of them,” he said when asked which one he’s focusing on. “Honestly. You can always get all of them, better fine-tuned, I would say.”
At this time last year, Reid-Foley was coming off an ugly 2017 season that dropped his prospect stock considerably after posting a 5.09 ERA in Double-A.
“It’s funny how a year changes a lot,” Reid-Foley said. “Last year, throwing in the eighth or ninth inning of every ballgame, and this year I get a start. It’s kind of like, ‘Wow, a lot can change in a year.’”
Reid-Foley is likely slated for the Triple-A Buffalo rotation to start the season, but a lot can happen between now and the end of March.
Ryan Borucki, who started the Grapefruit League opener, is the clear favourite to start the season in the rotation behind the four veterans — Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Matt Shoemaker and Clayton Richard — but all four of the established arms have resumes littered with recent health issues and can’t be seen as sure bets to be intact when the regular season arrives.
Borucki, Reid-Foley and lefty Thomas Pannone are enjoying the competition.
“We’re all boys and we’ve played the last two years together,” Reid-Foley said. “Especially last year, it was cool seeing all of us get up there and to experience that all together was a lot of fun.”
LINE DRIVES
—Two outfielders battling for jobs showed up in a big way Sunday, with centre fielder Dalton Pompey collecting two hits, including bashing a solo home run in his first at-bat, while Billy McKinney had a double and a single in three trips to the dish as the right fielder. With Kevin Pillar, Teoscar Hernandez and Randal Grichuk relatively safe bets to be on the opening day roster, McKinney and Pompey are competing for likely one spot, although a great spring from the out-of-options Pompey could force the Jays to look at carrying a fifth outfielder to start the year.
—Speaking of Grichuk, the Jays clarified the injury report handed out Saturday that said the 27-year-old was dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The team says Grichuk doesn’t actually have the foot issue, but they’re simply taking precautions to make sure it doesn’t flare up. Manager Charlie Montoyo still believes he’ll play Tuesday.
—The rotation has been lined up for the next couple of days. Marcus Stroman will make his spring debut Monday in Tampa against the New York Yankees, before winter free-agent acquisition Matt Shoemaker toes the rubber Tuesday in Dunedin against the Boston Red Sox. Aaron Sanchez and lefty Clayton Richard are also expected to make their spring debuts shortly.