Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Vladimir Guerrero Ramos (born March 16, 1999), often called Vladdy, is a Dominican-Canadian first baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays. He debuted in MLB in 2019, bats and throws right-handed, and is the son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr. He plays for the Dominican Republic internationally.

Born in Montreal while his father played for the Expos, Guerrero holds Canadian citizenship. After his parents split, he moved with his mother to Santiago, Dominican Republic, and spent time with his uncle Wilton in Don Gregorio and summers with his father in the U.S. In 2003, during his father’s final Expos game at Olympic Stadium, four-year-old Guerrero, in an Expos uniform, joined him on the field and waved to the crowd—a moment captured in an iconic photo. His uncle Wilton taught him baseball fundamentals, and Guerrero credits him for guiding his development since age five.

The Blue Jays signed Guerrero as an international free agent in 2015 for $3.9 million. He debuted in the minors with the Rookie Advanced Bluefield Blue Jays in 2016, hitting .271 with eight home runs and 46 RBIs in 62 games. In 2017, he played for Class-A Lansing and Advanced-A Dunedin, batting .323 with 13 home runs and 76 RBIs in 119 games, and was named ESPN’s Prospect of the Year. In 2018, he was the top Blue Jays prospect, starting at Double-A New Hampshire, where he hit .402 with 14 home runs and 60 RBIs in 61 games before a promotion to Triple-A Buffalo. That year, he was named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America and USA Today after hitting .381 with 20 home runs, 78 RBIs, and only 38 strikeouts in 95 games.

In 2021, Guerrero led MLB in home runs (48, tied), runs scored (123), and total bases (363). He earned his first All-Star selection, won the All-Star Game MVP (the youngest ever), and finished second in AL MVP voting. Since then, he has made six All-Star appearances, been named to the All-MLB First Team three times, and won two Silver Slugger Awards and one Gold Glove at first base.