New Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider is confident Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be at his best in the No. 2 spot of the batting order.
Schneider moved Guerrero Jr. up one spot to No. 2 in his second game at the helm on Thursday. As well as possibly getting an extra at-bat, Schneider believes Guerrero will benefit from having Alejandro Kirk and Bo Bichette behind him.
“I think you kind of kill two birds with one stone with this,” Schneider said in an interview on Blair & Barker on Sportsnet 590 The Fan on Friday.
“Moving him up, I think he’s going to be pitched I don’t want to see differently, but a little bit more carefully. When Vladdy’s Vladdy and he’s doing damage and he’s getting on base, he’s being a little bit more selective. I think over the last couple weeks, it’s pretty obvious he’s been a little bit more out of the zone with his swings … I think it is correctable. I don’t think it’s anything mechanical. I’ve seen him swing for long enough. I think it’s just more approach. It’s hey make sure you put a good pitch to hit and put your elite swing on it and if you don’t get that, pass the baton to Kirky, pass the baton to Bo and hopefully away we go.’”
In his past 15 games, Guerrero is hitting .250 with two homers, 10 RBI, no walks and 11 strikeouts.
Considering he has walked 37 times this year, it appears he is pressing a bit.
Schneider is convinced Guerrero get back to top form thanks in large part to his work ethic.
“Everyone sees the smile and everyone sees the joking in the dugout and having fun on the field, which is totally true. He is that as well,” said Schneider, who also managed Guerrero in the minors. “But the kind of teammate he is in the clubhouse is elite, the kind of prep he does every day from a physical standpoint, game-planning standpoint, even a defensive standpoint, I think that gets overlooked at times.
“When you’re a player with his talent and you want to take it to the next level, you’ve got to do all those little things. He is a pro when it comes to the prep and the teammate aspect.”
The bench coach before Charlie Montoyo was fired on Wednesday, Schneider said the biggest adjustment he noticed in his new job came before Thursday’s series opener against the Kansas City Royals.
“It was yesterday doing the pre game media in the office — kind of like ‘this is different, this is not part of the norm,’ … Just the media stuff, the attention you need to pay everywhere is the biggest difference,” Schneider said.
With just three games left before the All-Star break, Schneider knows he has to get his message across. But he can’t rush it, either.
“It’s weird because it is a condensed season so you want it to happen quickly but you can’t force it at the same time,” Schneider said. “That’s the biggest balancing act going forward. Just kind of having that feel of what we want to do and who we want to be portrayed as but not overdoing it and saying this guy is coming in with his hair on fire and trying to do too much.”
Watch the second game of the Blue Jays’ series versus the Royals on Friday on Sportsnet at 7:07 p.m. ET / 4:07 p.m. PT.
