Kevin Kiermaier: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is ‘best player’ in MLB right now

Kevin Kiermaier: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is ‘best player’ in MLB right now

The Toronto Blue Jays may be last in the AL East with a 14.5-game deficit for the division lead, but slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has resurged into one of the most prolific hitters in the sport.

Former Blue Jays teammate Kevin Kiermaier –who was dealt to the Dodgers ahead of the July 30 trade deadline–had a bold proclamation regarding Guerrero’s status across MLB this week.

“Vladdy is the best player in the big league right now,” Kiermaier said. “He is so locked in. Hits everything as hard as can be. (On July 29), hits three doubles, a homer in the second half of that doubleheader.

“He is all sorts of locked in right now and a phenomenal human being, I love him. So, if I was GM, I would be paying the man, but I’m a centre-fielder so it doesn’t matter what I think.”

Guerrero is slashing .311/.382/.524 with 26 doubles, 21 home runs and 70 RBIs through 108 games (471 plate appearances) this season. That equates to a .906 OPS and 155 OPS+. Those are his highest marks since leading the American League in OPS (1.002) and OPS+ (167) in 2021, when he finished second in AL MVP voting while earning his first-and-only silver slugger award.

The 25-year-old slugger is in the midst of a 14-game hitting streak, which dates back to July 14. Since the start of June, he owns a 1.034 OPS with a 185 wRC+, the No. 6 and No. 5 marks among qualified American League bats, respectively.

Kiermaier’s not wrong–he’s scorching hot. I wouldn’t go as far as to say he’s the league’s best– Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge are the likely two frontrunners for that tag, respectfully–but Guerrero’s not far off. He has one more year of control after 2024, so Toronto’s going to have to make a decision on paying him sooner rather than later.

I’d pay him, but I’m also not Ross Atkins. We’ll see what direction the Jays want to go in this offseason regarding their generational bat.

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