Vlad Jr.’s one-handed spring dominance

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won’t be on the opening day roster — that much is clear in abundance. Ross Atkins, along with the rest of the front office, has been laying the public groundwork for this decision for months, and frankly, trading two weeks for a full season of service time is a worthwhile exchange.

But, man, is Guerrero making it hard on Toronto Blue Jays’ fans.

Guerrero is making headlines again, this time for a one-handed, batting-gloves-free double off the top of the left field wall at Dunedin Stadium.

Guerrero will “go back and forth between batting gloves and bare hands” for spring training, Keegan Matheson of Baseball Toronto reports, because “he sweats a lot.” Guerrero also told Marly Rivera of ESPN that he wouldn’t watch the video of his double because he “already saw it live.”

Could you get any more superhuman?

In his four spring training games — 12 plate appearances — Guerrero has yet to hit a home run, but he’s hit two doubles in three hits.

He’s gotten more than his fair share of attention on social media from fans, reporters and media alike. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reported yesterday that Guerrero’s dreadlocks are, indeed, gold and purple, and MLB’s official Twitter account has been lavishing Guerrero with praise for months.

Bill Baer pointed some of this attention out in an article for NBC Sports yesterday. “I propose a rule: If Guerrero is good enough for MLB to drum up excitement around him and profit off of his image, then he’s good enough to not be disingenuously stuffed in the minors for two weeks (or more) to start the season,” Baer wrote.

It’s a valid debate over whether the Blue Jays are right to keep Guerrero down, but for know, he’s dominating spring training on the field and in the media, social or not.