TORONTO -- Every time Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grabs a bat, struts to the plate and stares down an opposing pitcher, the fans at Rogers Centre respond with a three-syllable serenade.

“M-V-P! M-V-P!”

Guerrero -- who, entering Wednesday, led American League hitters in OPS (1.001) and fWAR (6.6), as well as the Majors in runs (120) and total bases (349) -- has put himself in excellent position to compete for the AL’s highest individual honor. He hears his supporters loud and clear, even though he does his best to block them out.

“To be honest with you, I try not to pay too much attention to that, even though of course I hear it and it feels great,” Guerrero said in August via translator Hector Lebron. “But I just try to stay focused on the at-bat at that moment.”

As Toronto makes its playoff push in the season’s final week, Guerrero is trying to put the finishing touches on a potential award-winning campaign. To do that, he’ll need to polish off a strong September and early October, and he needn’t look past his father for the blueprint.

Vladimir Guerrero Sr., the 2004 AL MVP with Anaheim, went on an epic tear in the season’s final month to secure the hardware over New York’s Gary Sheffield and Boston’s Manny Ramirez.

Here’s what Guerrero Sr. accomplished in his closing 30 games:

• Slash line: .363/.424/.726
• OPS: 1.150
• Home runs: 11
• RBIs: 25

And through 26 games since the start of September, here’s how Guerrero Jr. has fared:

• Slash line: .317/.395/.574
• OPS: .969
• Home runs: 7
• RBIs: 9

Clearly, Guerrero Jr. has some work to do in order to make the type of case his father did. But that’s only because the 22-year-old finds himself in the worst “slump” of his season: 1-for-20 in his past five games entering Wednesday, with zero RBIs and zero extra-base hits. His current four-game hitless streak is, amazingly, the longest of his season.

“To be able to even be considered [for] MVP, to be able to do what he’s done for this length of time and not really have a big valley, it’s very impressive in itself,” outfielder Corey Dickerson said. “That speaks to his talent. It’s just impressive to watch. You kind of sit back in awe.”

Guerrero’s awesome season began with a scorching Spring Training, when he posted a 1.247 OPS in 17 games. That type of production, even in the casual setting of exhibition games, put the league on notice.

“I feel like he’s an MVP,” Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge told reporters Tuesday. “I was talking with some of the guys in Spring Training, and he had a pretty impressive Spring Training. I said, ‘Man, Vlad’s about to go off.’ And sure enough, he did. Just consistent at-bats. I know a lot of guys on that team have been having really good years, but he’s the separator for them, I think.”

Guerrero is presumably chasing Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani in the AL MVP race. Ohtani has a 3.18 ERA in 130 1/3 innings, as well as 45 home runs and a .962 OPS at the plate.

Prior to his recent rough patch, Guerrero had a 1.160 OPS in his first 21 games of September. He can go on that sort of a run at any moment, and right now the playoff-hungry Blue Jays really need it.

So does Guerrero, if he hopes to fulfill the hopes of all those fans providing the “M-V-P!” chants.