Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to Become Youngest Player to Compete in HR Derby

Former Fisher Cats star will team up with 2018 Manager John Schneider on July 8

July 1, 2019

Manchester, N.H. - Major League Baseball has confirmed reports that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. , who starred for the 2018 Eastern League Champion New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays Double-A affiliate), will become the youngest player to compete in the MLB Home Run Derby.Guerrero, 20, has invited 2018 Fisher Cats Manager John Schneider to throw to him

Manchester, N.H. - Major League Baseball has confirmed reports that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. , who starred for the 2018 Eastern League Champion New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays Double-A affiliate), will become the youngest player to compete in the MLB Home Run Derby.
Guerrero, 20, has invited 2018 Fisher Cats Manager John Schneider to throw to him during Home Run Derby, which will take place on July 8 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. Schneider is currently a Major League Coach with the Toronto Blue Jays, and managed Guerrero with the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays in 2017 and with the Fisher Cats last season.
The full eight-player Home Run Derby Bracket will be revealed on Wednesday. The winner will receive a $1 million prize.
As baseball's top prospect, Guerrero hit .402 in 61 games with New Hampshire last season, belting 14 home runs and producing 60 RBIs. He made his MLB debut with the Toronto Blue Jays on April 26, 2019, and is currently batting .251 with eight homers in his first 54 big league games. His first career long ball came on May 14, making him the youngest ever Blue Jay to hit a home run (20 years, 59 days old).
Ken Griffey Jr. (1990) and Bryce Harper (2013) are the only other players to compete in the Home Run Derby at age 20. Guerrero would be the first Blue Jay ever to win the event. His father Vladimir Guerrero won the 2007 Home Run Derby with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Four of Guerrero's fellow contestants have been announced, including a few with Eastern League ties. Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Josh Bell played for the Altoona Curve in 2014 and 2015, and New York Mets rookie sensation Pete Alonso hit 15 home runs for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies last season. Carlos Santana , who played for the Akron Aeros in 2009, will also compete, along with 2018 National League MVP Christian Yelich .

The Fisher Cats wrap up an 11-game road trip this week, and return home to Delta Dental Stadium for a Fourth of July Weekend series against the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox Double-A affiliate) from Thursday, July 4 - Sunday, July 7. The homestand features three spectacular Atlas Fireworks shows, including the NH Lottery's Megabucks Megablast Fireworks Extravaganza on Independence Day.