5 reasons to root for Guerrero Jr. in Derby

In many ways, it’s almost as if we’ve been waiting for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to participate in Monday's T-Mobile Home Run Derby since 2007. That’s when he stood on the field with his father and other members of his family when Vladimir Guerrero Sr. was handed a trophy for winning the Home Run Derby at Oracle Park, defeating the Blue Jays’ Alex Rios.

From a certain angle, you can even see Guerrero Jr. eyeing the trophy. Now, he’ll get a chance to compete for one of his own.

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Guerrero reached viral phenom status last year, slugging Minor League homers that found their way onto television screens. He debuted on April 26, and has been piquing fans’ interest since.

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Here are five reasons to root for Guerrero Jr. in the Home Run Derby.

1) Did you see him practicing? This is someone who’s done this before

His Derby practice on Tuesday went viral, and with good reason. He may have only eight Major League homers right now, but there’s no question as to the damage he can do in this kind of format. Just watch him crush in his practice round in Toronto.

From whence might such prowess come? Well, this isn’t his first Derby -- it’s just his first Major League Derby. Guerrero Jr. participated in the 2017 Midwest League derby in Midland, Michigan -- along with, amongst others, Fernando Tatis Jr. Guerrero was leading early and put up a great showing, making his way to the finals. He lost to Carlos Rincon, but not before putting on a show -- and gaining valuable Derby experience, including the value of in-person support.

“There, definitely my family, the support of my family really kept me going,” Guerrero said this week about that derby. “This time, they’re going to help get me through too.”

2) The youth movement

We’ve seen youngsters take the Majors by storm, especially over the last few years. So isn’t it time for that to permeate into the Home Run Derby? Guerrero will be 20 years and 114 days old on Monday, the youngest Home Run Derby participant ever. He’s one of three 20-year-olds to compete in the event, along with 20-year, 230-day old Ken Griffey Jr. in 1990, the previous youngest, and 20-year, 272-day old Bryce Harper in 2013. Griffey lost in the first round, but Harper made it to the finals, putting forth a blueprint for Guerrero.

The youngest Home Run Derby winner was Juan Gonzalez in 1993, at 23 years and 265 days. The only rookie to win outright was Aaron Judge in 2017.

But Guerrero has broken barriers before. Before he came into the league, the youngest Blue Jays player to homer was Danny Ainge, at 20 years and 157 days in 1979. Guerrero already has eight homers and hasn’t even passed that age yet. So why not break this record, too?

3) It’s a family thing

Guerrero’s father competed in two Home Run Derbies -- losing in the first round in 2000, then winning it all in 2007. Guerrero was able to watch that win from the field. Could there possibly be better preparation than that? It seems unlikely.

The Guerreros are the second father-son duo to both compete in a Home Run Derby in their careers. Cecil Fielder competed in three, losing in the first round in 1990, 1991 and 1993. His son Prince competed in six, winning two -- in 2009 and 2012.

Therefore, we can say that the only other Home Run Derby participant whose father was also a participant went on to win at least one Derby himself. That seems like pretty convincing evidence.

Back to those barriers that Guerrero has broke, though -- with a win, he and his father would be the first father-son duo to each win a Derby.

4) He has crushed the ball

Guerrero has four batted balls of 115+ mph this season, the most in the Majors. And he didn’t even debut until April 26. None of those were home runs, but they’re still a good indication of just how hard he can hit the ball.

Guerrero’s first two home runs of his career had exit velocities of 111.3 mph and 113.7 mph, and went 438 feet and 451 feet, respectively. He became one of just seven players to hit multiple homers of at least 110 mph and 430 feet in the same game tracked by Statcast (since 2015), joining Josh Bell, Nelson Cruz, Gary Sanchez, Giancarlo Stanton, Trevor Story and Mark Trumbo. That’s a pretty hard-hitting list.

On May 11, he hit a 118.9-mph single, which is tied for the second hardest-hit ball in the Majors this season. It’s also the hardest base hit by any player not named Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton or Nelson Cruz since Statcast began tracking in 2015. Again, the company could not be much better.

5) Toronto is due for a title ... a Home Run Derby title, that is

While he breaks barriers with age, Guerrero might as well do something that’s never been done in franchise history, too. No Blue Jays player has ever won the Home Run Derby. He’s the 11th different player to compete, joining Jose Bautista (3x), Joe Carter (3x), Carlos Delgado (2x), Jesse Barfield, Troy Glaus, Shawn Green, Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, George Bell and Josh Donaldson.

The best finish by any Blue Jays player is reaching the finals, which Jose Bautista did in 2012 and Rios did in 2007. Rios lost to none other than Guerrero’s father, and Bautista lost to Prince Fielder -- of the other father-son duo fame.