Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Finally Starts to Heat Up for the Red-Hot Blue Jays
For the first time since May 17, Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went deep as he blasted one over the fence at Fenway Park in the Blue Jays' 4-3 win over the Boston Red Sox on June 18.
It was Guerrero's fourth home run of the season as the Montreal, Quebec, Canada native has experienced a shocking power drought after he hit eight homers during last year's postseason.
For Guerrero, it was a massive relief to see the ball fly over the fence in Boston.
That felt great."
"That felt great, obviously, but it felt even better the way we won the game, the way we played this series. I'm very happy with that," Guerrero told reporters after the game.
"I always tell the guys, 'Don't worry about me.' I'm going to be good. When I get hot, I'll get hot."
Not only did Guerrero get the monkey off his back by snapping his 25-game homerless drought, but more importantly, the Blue Jays swept the rival Red Sox in the three-game set.
With the win, the Blue Jays are now 37-38, and they are in sole possession of the third American League Wild Card spot.
Blue Jays Need Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to Hit More Homers
It goes without saying that the Blue Jays will only go as far as Guerrero takes them.
He is the team's best player and their highest-paid player. If the Blue Jays are going to make another World Series run, then they need Guerrero to start hitting for more slug.
Four home runs at the near-halfway mark of the season is downright shocking for Guerrero. Sure, he may never approach the 48 homers that he hit during 2021. But he should be a guy who is firmly around the 30-home run mark a year, or at the very least in the 20s, like he was last year, when he hit 23 home runs for Toronto in the regular season, before adding eight more in the playoffs.
This year, Guerrero is on pace for fewer than 10 home runs. Given that he makes $40.2 million as the highest-paid Blue Jays player and the highest-paid first baseman in the league, the Blue Jays simply need more of him.
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At this point in this season, Guerrero has been essentially a league-average bat.
But the Blue Jays are hoping him having a big series in Boston will be exactly what the doctored order for Guerrero to get going. Because, again, the Blue Jays are only going as far as Guerrero takes them.
When he hits, they win. When he doesn't hit, they lose. It doesn't exactly take a rocket scientist to see that.
After a potential breakout season at Fenway Park, perhaps Guerrero is ready to go on a power surge in the second half of the year. The Blue Jays would certainly welcome it.
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Don't Forget About the Blue Jays
At this point in the season, the Blue Jays have played 75 games and are one game below .500. That's not where anyone thought this team would be, given how well they played last year, when they came within two outs of beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series.
The good news for Toronto is that the American League has been incredibly mediocre this year. Despite being a tick under .500, the Blue Jays still control the third and final Wild Card spot.
As they say, all you have to do is get into the postseason, and anything is possible.
Sure, it would be nice to win the American League East, as the Blue Jays did last year, and get home-field advantage during the playoffs. But at this point, it looks like either the Tampa Bay Rays or the New York Yankees will win the AL East. The focus, then, turns to the Wild Card.
This Blue Jays team, despite their early-season struggles, is still incredibly talented. There is a reason why they have one of the largest payrolls in the game. It's because the team is chock full of proven vets who have earned their big contracts through their strong play over the years.
It has certainly been a bumpy ride through the first few months of this season. But the Blue Jays are somehow still in the mix despite mediocre play and tons of injuries to both their position players and pitchers.
The Blue Jays have managed to stay the course and keep in the Wild Card mix.
With a big second half, they can show the baseball world why they were considered one of the World Series favorites before the season started.
If Guerrero can pick it up, especially regarding hitting for power, it would certainly make things a lot easier for the Blue Jays.
They still have World Series hopes, and if Guerrero gets hot, the chances of the team achieving their goal go way up.
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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 9:07 PM.