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By Jackson Roberts
Contributing Sports Writer
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If the Toronto Blue Jays win the World Series, ownership should start mapping out space for the eventual statue of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. outside the Rogers Centre.
Six months after signing a 14-year, $500 million extension, Guerrero has answered any and all questions about his greatness. He's batting .419 in the postseason through 15 games, crushing his first home run of the Fall Classic and seventh of the playoffs on Tuesday night against Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Guerrero is so locked in that even the teammates who see him on a daily basis can hardly believe what he's doing in October. And for the Blue Jays' pitchers, it's a good thing to share a dugout with the 26-year-old slugger.
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Blue Jays starter-turned-reliever Eric Lauer was recently asked what his strategy would be if he had to face Guerrero at the moment, and he offered a humorous, yet insightful response.
"I'd probably pitch around him," Lauer said, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN. "His bat path is so smooth and long, I feel like he can get to anything.
"Whenever he comes up, we're just like 'Hang a slider or a curveball. Hang something. Or throw a fastball down the middle and see how far that goes.'"
Guerrero's home run against Ohtani was against a hanging sweeper, which still had wicked movement and would have been a tough pitch to handle for many hitters. But it hasn't mattered in these playoffs. High velocity, nasty breaking stuff, pinpoint location -- Guerrero has hammered them all without discrimination.
It wouldn't be shocking to see the Dodgers heed Lauer's advice for the rest of the series, especially with Toronto slugger George Springer's availability uncertain. The whole season has come down to a best-of-three format, and going down on a big swing from Guerrero is the easiest downfall to predict if the Dodgers allow it to happen.
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