If you don’t follow the pipelines that lead to the Majors, you might have missed two of the most hyped minor leaguers in recent memory. Family tradition is strong within both of the players that rank among the top prospects in all of minor league baseball.
Bo Bichette is the son of former Rockies slugger Dante Bichette. Bo’s older brother, Dante Bichette Jr. is a fellow farmhand in the Yankee organization. The youngest Bichette was a 2nd round pick of the Blue jays in 2016 out of Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is inevitably the son of Hall of Fame outfielder Vladimir Guerrero. He was signed as an international free agent in 2015 for $3.9 million as a 16-year-old, the earliest age allowed to sign.
The odds of making it to professional baseball are relatively low for the majority of young athletes. Those odds are a bit better when one has the genes of former Major League talent. While having baseball royalty in the bloodline can be an asset to the career path of a prospect, it also intensifies the pressure and raises expectations. The heightened following of the media, both online and on air, can be appealing as long as the potential is being reached.
What benefits Bichette and Guerrero Jr. is that they are two highly coveted prospects that both come from great baseball backgrounds. They are teammates poised to break through to the Majors around the same time, and they have each other to help deal with the pressures that come with the given situation. Both players seem to have reacted as best as possible up to this point; after a few seasons in the minors Bichette is ranked as the 13th overall prospect by MLB Pipeline and Guerrero Jr. is ranked 3rd overall.
Bo Bichette definitely has the looks of a potential superstar, at least circa 1995. He has a riveting mullet that mirrors the looks of his father and Colorado teammate Vinny Castilla. The looks match the statistics so far as he has a career .372 BA and .591 SLG with 50 doubles and 110 RBI through two minor league seasons. Bichette has reached as high as Class High-A Dunedin. He figures to start out there in 2018 and progress to AA and possibly AAA during the season.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has the name and the swing to garner attention from fans both young and old. He might have a hard time stepping out of his father’s shadow according to older generation fans, but the younger followers will undoubtedly be infatuated with Guerrero 2.0. Like his Dunedin teammate, Guerrero has peaked at Class High-A and will look to reach the upper levels of the minor leagues in 2018 before possibly debuting for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019.
The left side of Toronto’s infield could be set for the next ten years if Bichette and Guerrero stick to their current positions. Guerrero is a third baseman that could also DH, and Bo Bichette is a middle infielder that could also play the corners. Troy Tulowitzki is 33 and seems to be declining rapidly due to age and injuries. Josh Donaldson is 32 but has been a late bloomer and looks poised to be a contributing factor into his mid-30s.
There is no rush for the young prospects, especially in 2018, but a year or two from now we could be discussing teammates battling it out for Rookie of the Year honors. Toronto does not have favorable predictions for the 2018 season, and there is no reason to think they would consider trading prospects for pricier veteran players to make a playoff push. Even if they did, there is no chance they would consider dealing away either of their top two organizational prospects.
If building for the future is the current trend, the Blue Jays are right in the thick of the discussion. Bo Bichette and Guerrero Jr. are two of the most hyped up-and-coming prospects in baseball. They have the roots, the talent and stats, the youth and the swag to back up all the articles like this one written about them.
Did I mention there is a third 90s baseball offspring in the Toronto system who is also teammates with these two? Cavan Biggio is the son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio. He may not be as hyped as his teammates, but there are countless childhood clubhouse stories waiting to be shared amongst these three minor leaguers.
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