Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was named the Least Valuable Player in the American League in the first half.
Guerrero, who is in the first year of his 14-year, $500 million contract extension with Toronto, has been arguably the most disappointing player in all of baseball so far through the first half of the season.
Through his first 88 games this season, Guerrero has hit just 5 home runs and has an OPS of .694 and an OPS+ of 90, indicating his bat has been 10% worse than league average.
Given he is baseball’s highest-paid first baseman at $40.2 million this season, there is no doubt the Blue Jays were expecting much more from their star slugger, especially after he nearly helped lead the team to the World Series last season.
But he has been bad this year, and it’s why he is the AL’s LVP in the first half.
The Athletic Names Vladimir Guerrero Jr. AL LVP
According to The Athletic’s Jayson Stark, who is one of baseball’s top journalists and historians, Guerrero is the choice for the AL LVP as the least valuable player in the American League through the season’s first half.
“According to Baseball Reference, the Blue Jays are 28th out of 30 teams in baseball in OPS by their first basemen … 30th in home runs … 24th in WAR … and 28 in Batting Runs Above Average. Let’s just say that’s not Charles McAdoo’s fault. He’s taken the “home” out of homer — More than 60 first basemen have hit a home run in their home park this season. Guess who isn’t one of them. Guerrero has dug into the batter’s box in Toronto 190 times this year. But somehow, his last home run in the Rogers Centre was this one — more than 260 days ago,” Stark wrote.
These statistics truly put in perspective how rough a first half that Guerrero has had, as he just hasn’t been able to put it together for whatever reason.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Hoping for Better 2nd Half
He was voted the starting 1B for the AL in next week’s MLB All-Star game, but he decided to withdraw from the game and spend the break resting up as he hopes for a big second half, which is a wise decision for both him and his ballclub, as the Blue Jays certainly need him to get going if they have any chance of making it back to the postseason.
Guerrero has been one of the top hitters in baseball for several years now, so the fact that he has turned into a pumpkin this season, his age-27 year, is just absolutely shocking, as there were no signs of the slugger regressing this badly.
But for whatever reason, he just hasn’t been like his usual self this year, and the Blue Jays really need him to turn it around in the second half of the season, or else they are at serious risk of missing the postseason. When Guerrero goes, the Blue Jays go, but right now, he is really struggling to hit.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Named American League LVP in 1st Half