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Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. announced as the starting first baseman at the 2024 All-Star Game
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Photo credit: © Kevin Sousa - USA Today
Ryley Delaney
Jul 3, 2024, 19:30 EDTUpdated: Jul 3, 2024, 19:38 EDT
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Another season, another All-Star appearance for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
On Wednesday evening, Major League Baseball announced that Guerrero Jr. will be the starting first baseman for the American League, edging out Baltimore Orioles’ first baseman Ryan Mountcastle for the spot.
Aside from 2021, this season has been Guerrero Jr.’s best in the big leagues. Heading into Wednesday’s game, the 25-year-old is slashing .298/.378/.472 with 13 homers in 368 plate appearances for a 144 wRC+, his second-best total aside from the 166 wRC+ in 2021. Moreover, Guerrero Jr. has accumulated 1.9 fWAR, surpassing the 1.3 fWAR he set last season.
He’s been even better after removing his first month. Since April 27, Guerrero Jr. is slashing .339/.406/.540 with 10 homers in 249 plate appearances for a 170 wRC+. He may never equal his 48 home runs he had in 2021, but Guerrero Jr. has been one of the league’s best hitters this season.
Whenever Guerrero Jr. attends the All-Star game in any capacity, you know he’s doing something interesting. Shortly after being recalled in 2019, he participated in the Home Run Derby and was the runner up, while mashing a record 91 homers. In 2023, Guerrero Jr. won the Home Run Derby for the first time in his career.
While it’s to be seen if he participates in that event this season, this is the fourth-straight season Guerrero Jr. has made the All-Star game. In 2021, he was the All-Star MVP, along with being a starter in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, he came in off the bench, alongside Whit Merrifield, Bo Bichette, Kevin Gausman, and Jordan Romano.
This season, the All-Star game is set for July 16 at 8:00 PM ET. The draft takes place on July 14, while the Futures Game starts at 4:10 PM on July 13. Fernando Pérez is the Blue Jays representative for that event.
Either way, let’s hope Guerrero Jr. can continue his terrific season, and for God’s sake, please re-sign him.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

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