Vladimir Guerrero Jr. isn't having a great season, so it was surprising to see the Blue Jays slugger leading American League first basemen in voting when the first ballot update came out Monday. Even Vlad himself was caught off guard.
“I was surprised that I’m in first,” Guerrero told The Athletic. “There’s a lot of first basemen doing a better job than me. But I don’t control the fans, I don’t control the vote.”
Guerrero has made the All-Star team in each of the past five years and was the AL’s starting first baseman in four of them, so this is familiar territory for him. But as he mentioned, there are a bunch of AL first basemen with better numbers this season.
The 27-year-old has recorded only three homers with a .726 OPS through 69 games. Meanwhile, the Yankees’ Ben Rice (20 HR, 1.007 OPS) and the Athletics’ Nick Kurtz (18 HR, 1.000 OPS) are both in the AL MVP conversation.
Of course, it probably helps that the Blue Jays are the only team in Canada, giving Guerrero and his teammates a larger voting base to draw from. Catcher Alejandro Kirk, second baseman Ernie Clement, shortstop Andrés Giménez, third baseman Kazuma Okamoto and designated hitter George Springer also ranked among the top-two vote-getters at their specific positions as of Monday.
But geography is only part of it. Guerrero also has built a following over years of consistent production. He was named the All-Star Game MVP in 2021 and won the Home Run Derby in '23. A huge 2025 postseason run raised his profile even further.
On top of that, manager John Schneider sees a pull with fans that goes beyond the stat sheet.
“He probably doesn’t have the numbers that everyone wants or that he wants, but it shows that he is a very talented, likeable, popular player,” Schneider said. “We joke all the time that there are numbers in the scoreboard, but if those numbers weren’t in the scoreboard, who are you paying to come watch? He’s one of those guys. I think that plays into it, and the fact our fan base is really, really strong plays into it, obviously.”
Phase 1 of the voting concludes on June 25 at noon ET. The leading vote-getter in each league during Phase 1 will receive an automatic spot in their team’s starting lineup. Beyond those two players, the top two vote-getters at every position, and the top six outfielders, will advance to Phase 2 of the voting, which begins June 29.
All of that means that Guerrero doesn’t have a starting spot locked up just yet. But if he’s ultimately elected to start for the fifth time, you can be sure he's not going to miss it.
“If they vote for me, I gotta go,” Guerrero said. “If I’m voted first, I’m going.”