One of the best young players in Major League Baseball, Bo Bichette grew up around the league watching his father star on the diamond.
Ever since his days at Lakewood High School in Florida, Bichette has been seen as a prodigy. His success in the amateur ranks enabled the young man to be a second-round pick directly out of high school in the 2016 MLB Draft.
Less than a half-decade later, and Bichette is dominating at the highest level baseball has to offer. That’s not hyperbole. He’s actually out here making history.
Those are some absolutely stunning numbers right there. This season alone, Bichette is hitting .356 with five homers, 13 RBI and a 1.065 OPS in just 13 games.
If we were to expand Bichette’s career numbers over a 162-game regular season, they would look something like this.
Average: .322
On-base %: .365
OPS: .961
Hits: 225
Doubles: 60
HR: 44
RBI: 93
That seems pretty darn good.
Not only is Bichette the clear American League Rookie of the Year favorite, he now needs to be in the MVP conversation. That’s how good the young kid is playing right now.
“I think we’re watching a star in the making,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said after Bichette went deep for a fourth consecutive game Friday night, via MLB.com. “That’s what I’m watching. I love the potential. I love his intensity. For a young kid, he’s a leader. To do what he’s doing, it’s awesome. That’s what stars do.”
At this point, that doesn’t seem to be a hot take.
It’s going to be extremely fun to watch the Blue Jays’ trio of second-generation stars do their thing in the coming years. Bichette is joined by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cavan Biggio in forming one of MLB’s best young core groups.
Heading into Saturday’s game against the division rival Tampa Bay Rays, the trio has combined to hit 12 homers and 27 RBI in just 13 games this season.
The only unfortunate aspect to all of this is the inability of Blue Jays fans to see these three grow during the truncated 2020 season.