Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is one of the hottest hitters in baseball at the moment, with the right-hander slugger continuing to put the barrel to the ball. After today’s shutout loss against the Oakland A’s, Guerrero Jr. extended his hit streak to 22 games, which currently stands as the longest hit streak in the Major Leagues.
With the hit streak continuing into tomorrow’s game, Guerrero Jr. currently sits sixth in Blue Jays franchise history with his 22-game streak.
The hill is led by Shawn Green, who amassed a 28-game hit streak in 1999 and is followed by John Olerud (26 – 1993), Shannon Stewart (26 – 1999), Edwin Encarnacion (26 – 2015), and Scott Rolen (25 – 2009) on the franchise hit streak leaderboards. His streak is currently tied with George Bell (1989), Carlos Delgad0 (2000), and a previous streak set by Guerrero Jr. in 2022.
Longest hit streaks in one season – @BlueJays player:
28- Shawn Green (1999)
26- John Olerud (1993)
26- Shannon Stewart (1999)
26- Edwin Encarnacion (2015)
25- Scott Rolen (2009)
22- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (2024)
22- George Bell (1989)
22- Carlos Delgado (2000)
22- Guerrero (2022) pic.twitter.com/zuaNL6kwt7— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) August 10, 2024
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Should Guerrero Jr. wish to move into a tie for the second spot, he will need to collect a hit in his next four games to surpass all but Green.
After a sluggish start to the 2024 game, Guerrero Jr. has found a groove in the batter’s box that has fans reminiscing about his 2021 MVP campaign. Before today’s game, the 25-year-old amassed a .507/.571./1.065 through his hit streak – adding 11 doubles, 10 home runs, and 22 RBIs while striking out just seven times compared to 11 walks. He owns an impressive 1.636 OPS through the streak while also adding a .475 BAbip. He was close to hitting for the cycle a couple of days ago and Guerrero Jr. continues to take impressive swings in the batter’s box.
This impressive feat has seen Guerrero Jr. climb to within the top ten rankings in a few offensive statistical categories. He currently sits in fourth position across the Major Leagues with his .322 batting average while tied for eighth with his .942 OPS.
Other statistical categories that Guerrero Jr. is ranking high in include hits (144 – second), OBP (.394 – fifth), BB/K (.680 – 11th), extra-base hits (54 – 12th), RBIs (76 – 14th), and home runs (23 – 19th). Had he not struggled as much as he did to start the season, he would likely rank higher in terms of his power-related stats.
With such an impressive run at the plate, the Jays fans are at the Rogers Centre gates clamouring for an extension for the Montreal, Que. born slugger. A trend the Jays have not jumped on with their younger core pieces in recent memory, Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are free agency eligible following next season.
To continue his hit streak, Guerrero Jr. and the Jays will face the A’s tomorrow to round out the three-game series before facing the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim on Monday for a three-game set on the West Coast.