Dunedin's Guerrero Jr. homers in third straight

Even in the dog days of August, Class A Advanced Dunedin hitting coach Corey Hart has noticed that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. continues to bring energy and enthusiasm to the ballpark every day. But Hart isn't entirely shocked to see that continued effort from the 18-year-old.
"He's still a kid and he's playing like a kid -- he plays the game the way you're supposed to play it," Hart said. "You can see the kid in his heart, and I think that's the only way he knows how to play. He looks like he's someone out there having the time of their life." 
On Saturday, the Blue Jays' top prospect homered for the third straight game, adding a double, before Dunedin dropped a 6-3 decision to St. Lucie at First Data Field.

Gameday box score
"He's staying back really well," Hart said. "It's giving him more time to get to balls when he wasn't. He's not missing pitches that he should hit because his balance is so much better."
Guerrero's stability in the batter's box has produced a .387/.480/.677 slash line with nine extra-base hits and 13 RBIs over 17 games in August. Since arriving in the Florida State League from Class A Lansing on July 10, he's batting .328 average with four homers and 21 RBIs. 
"He's staying behind the ball better and it's coming off of his bat really hot," Hart said. "If you transfer the weight too early you're not going to have as much power on it. When you stay back, stay behind and keep your weight on it, you're able to drive the baseball more."
After grounding out back to the mound in the first inning, Guerrero led off the fourth against Andrew Church. MLB.com's No. 6 overall prospect took a pitch out of the strike zone, then blasted a solo shot over the center field fence. What stood out to Hart the most was the fact that the weather conditions were working against Guerrero.
"The wind was blowing in and when he hit it, it looked like a line drive in the infield," Hart said. "And then it just kept rising and going and cut through the wind. Eventually, it went over the center field wall -- it was impressive." 
In the sixth, Guerrero came through with a double to left for his sixth two-bagger in the FSL. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound third baseman got one last chance at the plate in the eighth against rehabbing Mets reliever Jeurys Familia. After working the count full, Guerrero struck out.
Still, Hart was impressed with the way Guerrero handled himself against a Major Leaguer who already has an All-Star Game appearance and 103 career saves under his belt. 

"It's good for him because he was really in that at-bat," Hart said. "Familia didn't really give him anything to hit. He had a really good at-bat facing a veteran-type pitcher. He ended up getting him on a 3-2 slider. I don't know if he showed him the slider much in that at-bat." 
Across two levels in his first full professional season, Guerrero is hitting .320 with 11 homers and 66 RBIs in 106 games. Aside from the numbers, Hart sees a player who has a high maturity level, both on and off the field. 
"Even though he is a young player, he has leadership qualities," Hart said. "People kind of look up to him because he's such a great player. He's embracing that and, hopefully, it's something he can develop and keep going. He's just that kind of player." 
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For St. Lucie, No. 14 Mets prospectWuilmer Becerra belted his fourth homer of the year and Anthony Dimino went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. 
Church (10-8) allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out four over seven innings en route to the win. Familia fanned three around a hit and a walk in a scoreless frame.