Series Preview: The start of the Vladdy era

The time has finally come, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will make his MLB-debut on Friday. Blue Jays fans have been waiting on the edge of their seats for this moment. Now that Guerrero Jr. is ready to play everyday, we will all be able to see how long it takes for him to live up to all the hype.

Guerrero Jr.’s promotion couldn’t have come at a better time for these Blue Jays. They’re coming off of being swept by Kevin Pillar and his Giants in their two-game series. The 20-year-old should be able to provide an offensive boost to this lineup heading into their three-game series against the Athletics.

This series feels like déjà vu all over again. StroShow will be getting the start in the opener of this series against the A’s, just like he did exactly a week ago. Last time out, Stroman pitched a season-high eight-innings and only surrendered one run on six hits, along with six strikeouts. If this is truly déjà vu, we should expect to see Stroman pitch for nearly the entire game again and get his second win of the season.

The Blue Jays will be so happy to see Mike Fiers back on the mound once again. In Fiers’ last start, the Blue Jays pounded him for six runs, nine hits and two home runs. To make things worse for Fiers, he will also have to worry about facing Guerrero Jr. this time out. So game one of this series should provide Blue Jays fans with a lot offensive excitement.

I really thought we would all be able to go just one season without having to hear about more finger problems with Aaron Sanchez. But clearly we can’t have nice things. Before exciting his last, Sanchez pitched four innings and gave up one run, two hits, three walks along with a pair of strikeouts. While it’s a positive that Sanchez will be making his next start, who knows how he’ll pitch when he’s dealing with any kind of finger problems.

Similar Sanchez, Brett Anderson was forced to leave the game in his last start due to injury. Anderson last pitched on Sunday against the Blue Jays, because these two teams apparently can’t get enough of each other. In that start the 31-year-old pitched 2.2 innings before he sustained an ankle sprain. Anderson appears to be fully-recovered from that injury and will get a second-attempt at trying to keep the Blue Jays off the scoresheet. Which he was unable to do last time out, as he surrendered two runs, four hits and a single walk.

Trent Thornton will get the start in the finale of this series. The 25-year-old will continue to attempt to find the success he had in his first two starts of the season. Since those starts, Thornton has severely struggled with the command of his pitches. Thornton hasn’t been able to get ahead in counts with his fastball, as well as his curveball has been hanging-up in the zone for hitters to smash. Which has also led to the 13 runs he’s given up over his last three starts.

Chris Bassitt has earned himself another start at the major-league level following his previous outing. In his last start against the Rangers, the 30-year-old went five innings and only gave up two hits and four walks, along with creating seven strikeouts. There isn’t much video on Bassitt for the Blue Jays to study since he’s played the majority of his career in the minor-leagues. So the Blue Jays might initially struggle to make much contact, but they’re one of the best teams in the league at making mid-game adjustments. Which is what they may have to do to be successful in the finale of this series.