Stroman wants 'legends' Vlad Jr., Bichette on Blue Jays' roster
Marcus Stroman has seen all he needs to see from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.
After tossing two scoreless, no-hit innings against the Canadian junior national team Saturday at Dunedin Stadium, with Guerrero stationed at third base and Bichette patrolling shortstop behind him, Stroman made it clear he wants both of them - neither of whom were invited to big-league camp this spring - on the Toronto Blue Jays' 25-man roster. ASAP.
"I'm ready for Bo and Vladdy to be on the big-league roster, to be honest," Stroman told MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm. "I don't think those guys should wait. I want them on my team. I think they could help us win, so that's all I'm going to say there."
Stroman's excitement is understandable. In addition to their enviable baseball bloodlines - Guerrero's dad was recently elected into Cooperstown, while Bichette's old man was a four-time All-Star - both players, despite their relative inexperience, are widely considered among the game's top prospects. Last year, in his first full season as a professional, Bichette - who turned 20 earlier this month - hit .362/.423/.565 with 14 home runs, 41 doubles, and 22 stolen bases in 110 games across Low-A Lansing and High-A Dunedin to win Minor League Baseball's offensive player of the year award; Guerrero, who turned 19 on Friday, raked, too, slashing .323/.425/.485 with 13 homers and 28 doubles in 119 contests.
And this spring, despite spending virtually all their time in minor-league camp, the hype has only intensified. On March 8, when Guerrero and Bichette were penciled into the Blue Jays' lineup for a Grapefruit League showdown with the Baltimore Orioles, they stole the show at Ed Smith Stadium: Guerrero, starting at DH, went 4-for-5 with four singles and a pair of runs scored, while Bichette - who entered the game as a pinch-runner - ended up going 2-for-3 with a stolen base.
Stroman, though, has seen much more of them. And that's why he's confident they're ready.
"I feel like these guys are like legends that you've never seen," Stroman said. "I'm around, I've seen them in cages, I've seen some of their games on the minor-league side. Those guys are special. You don't get too many players like that to come across an organization.
"I'm not going to sit here and say they should wait in the minors. I see what they're capable of, I see the at-bats that they take, I see the potential they have, and like I said, I would love to be playing with those guys behind me."
Still, Stroman's enthusiasm notwithstanding, neither player is expected to make it to Toronto this year. Guerrero and Bichette will likely start the season in Dunedin, or possibly with Double-A New Hampshire, and Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins wasn't bullish in January about either player's chances of cracking the active roster in 2018.
"I think that's less than likely," Atkins told theScore. "But really that's going to be much more up to them than it will be me."