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Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to make MLB debut Friday

By Connor Grott

April 24 (UPI) -- Vladimir Guerrero Jr., considered one of the top prospects in baseball, is heading to the MLB.

The Toronto Blue Jays will call up Guerrero on Friday and he is expected to make his major league debut, the team announced Wednesday.

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"We plan to call up Vladimir Guerrero for Friday's game," Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo told reporters. "We're planning to. Will he play? Yes.

"It's a big moment for the Toronto Blue Jays. He's the number one prospect in baseball and he's coming on Friday. It's a big moment for us. Hopefully he becomes what everybody thinks he can become and that's gonna be good for all of us."

The highly anticipated move came after the Blue Jays lost 4-0 to the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday. On the same day, Guerrero went 2-for-5 with a home run in his final game with Triple-A Buffalo.

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The 20-year-old third baseman had a strong chance to make the club's opening day roster out of spring training, but a strained oblique early in camp pushed his debut back.

Guerrero is hitting .367 with three home runs and eight RBIs in eight contests at the Triple-A level this season. He had a .381 batting average with 20 homers and 78 RBIs in 95 minor-league games last season.

Toronto hosts the Oakland A's on Friday for the beginning of a three-game series. Mike Fiers is scheduled to take the mound for the Athletics, while Marcus Stroman is projected to start for the Blue Jays.

Guerrero's father played 16 seasons in the MLB and was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.

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