Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been thriving in the Toronto Blue Jays’ minor league system this year, but unfortunately he was placed on the DL Thursday.
Guerrero suffered a lower-body injury over the weekend. While he appeared to be okay, the injury returned on Tuesday when he limped to first after a hit.
The news is somewhat surprising given that on Wednesday his Double-A manager, John Schneider, said that Guerrero was fine.
But speaking on the matter, Toronto’s director of player development, Gil Kim, noted that the organization is being cautious.
“For us, it’s just about being extra cautious given that the injury occurred last Saturday and when he came back there was a little bit of a setback,” Kim said, per Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun. “We’re just being extra cautious. It’s not expected to be anything serious.”
Caution certainly makes sense. Guerrero is his organization’s top prospect and, per MLB.com, is the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball.
Guerrero has had an absolutely marvelous season for the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. He’s hitting .407/.457/.667 and has 11 home runs. If Guerrero continues at that rate upon returning, he’ll likely get called up to Triple-A Buffalo and possibly to the majors by the end of the year.