Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider commented on the early-season struggles of superstar slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The Blue Jays’ best player has had a very inconsistent start to the 2026 MLB season. 41 games into the year, Guerrero has a nifty .300 batting average and a 120 wRC+, which shows he is batting 20% better than league average. But you simply cannot ignore the lack of power, as Guerrero has just 2 home runs in 150 at-bats. For a Blue Jays team that is in desperate need of power, their No. 3 hitter in the lineup every night hitting only 2 home runs at the quarter mark of the season simply isn’t good enough.
Not only that, but after a strong April where Guerrero posted an impressive .354 batting average and .907 OPS, his numbers have completely cratered in May. This month, Guerrero is hitting just .135 with a putrid .355 OPS and zero home runs. Considering he makes $40.2 million this year, those types of numbers just aren’t going to cut it for a player who is considered an MLB superstar.
John Schneider Reflects on the Struggles of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Speaking to the media before Tuesday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Toronto, the Jays’ skipper, Schneider, said that he thinks his star first baseman is pressing too much. Because he is trying too hard, the results aren’t coming, leading to a nasty cycle of frustration for both the hitter and the team.
“Asked about Vladimir Guerrero Jr., John Schneider thinks he’s trying to do a little too much, which is something we’ve all seen in past years from Vladdy. ‘I think he’s at the point where he wants to be the guy to carry us. The more he does that, the harder it gets.’ #BlueJays,” Blue Jays reporter Keegan Matheson wrote on X.
“I think he’s at the point where he wants to be the guy to carry us. The more he does that, the harder it gets.” #BlueJays
Blue Jays Need Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to Step It Up
If the Blue Jays are going to snap out of their early-season funk as a team and make a playoff push, then they need Guerrero to step it up and show everyone that he is still the MVP-caliber hitter that everyone thinks he is. Because right now, he just isn’t playing up to his potential.
In 2021, Guerrero hit 48 home runs for the Blue Jays, a year he finished second in American League MVP voting. He hasn’t come close to that home run total in the five years since, and it’s likely he won’t again. But as long as he hits between 25 and 30 home runs a year, the Blue Jays would be happy with that, especially if he hits around .300 with an OPS over .850. Those were around the numbers he put up last year, and the team couldn’t be upset if he had those numbers going forward. After all, those numbers were good enough to help the Blue Jays win the American League East last year, and then Guerrero stepped it up when it mattered even more in the playoffs.
But although power is not the only measurable for a hitter in MLB, when you play first base, make over $40 million per season, and have the name value and pedigree that Guerrero has, having just 2 homers 25% of the way into the season just isn’t good enough. If the Blue Jays are going to turn their season around after a bad 18-23 start, then they need Guerrero to be the one stepping it up and showing the rest of the team the way. Otherwise, the team could be at risk of missing the postseason.
John Schneider Comments on Struggling Vladimir Guerrero Jr.