DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins held his weekly media availability with a group of local reporters Thursday morning and touched on all the latest events surrounding the team.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. once again dominated the conversation as Atkins touched on the plan for his development and conditioning, plus timelines for a Major League debut. He also touched on Aaron Sanchez, Rule 5 Draft pick Elvis Luciano and much more.
Here are some excerpts:
On how the Blue Jays are handling Guerrero's development:
Atkins: "My entire career has been in player development, and now as a general manager I still think about players in the Minor Leagues that way and how they could be the best possible versions of themselves. That’s what we’re focused on now. I’ve always talked about prospects my whole career in professional baseball, even when I was playing. When I think of prospects, I think of their full potential, and that’s what we focus on now. That’s entirely what we focus on, how in this situation we can help Vladdy be the best possible player he’s going to be."
On what Guerrero needs to do before promotion:
Atkins: "We think of full potential. Could he come up and have really good at-bats? Probably better than any one in the Minor Leagues at this point, sure. It will be a balance. Very, very few players come [up] and are as good as they are going to be. There's continued development, always. We're going to try to strike that balance and when is he the most ready and prepared and [can] transition as the best version of himself and obviously there are so many variables to that. We are going to be focused on the complete player."
On what Guerrero can do to develop in the Minors that can't be done in the Majors:
Atkins: "It's really about foundation. It's not just those things. His overall foundation will impact his consistency as an offensive player, too, and long-term durability. It's not just getting reps as a defender, getting reps as an infielder, getting reps as a baserunner, all of those will improve. Really, it's just the foundation. So how can he be the best possible version of himself. He turns 20 in a couple of weeks and then we'll be talking about a 20-year-old. But whether it's a 20-year-old transitioning, and where he is in his career, it's entirely focused on us just trying to maximize his potential. Foundation is what it's about."
On whether the Blue Jays are concerned about Guerrero's physical condition:
Atkins: No. I mean, listen, there aren't many young individuals that are 200-plus pounds at 19 years old. He is a physical, physical human being. So we think about that in terms of maximizing it. How do we tap into all of that power. How do we tap into all of that range of motion and agility and not just rely on the fact that, yes, he is a very gifted hitter that is going to hit for a long time. But let's tap into all of that.
On what he says to fans who are frustrated that Guerrero hasn't been called up yet:
Atkins: I would say that it's such an exceptional challenge and potential frustration to have. The fact that we have this frustration is a very good thing. I could not be more grateful that he was acquired with the work that was done by [vice president of international scouting] Andrew Tinnish, [former GM] Alex Anthopoulos, [Latin American operations director] Sandy [Rosario] and [former international scouting director] Ismael Cruz, who was here at the time, to acquire this type of talent, is a very, very good situation for us. We're just trying to maximize it and do everything that we can to do what's best for him. We genuinely feel it would be a disservice to the organization and to Vladdy if we weren't thinking about it that way, to maximize his full potential.
On Aaron Sanchez and his recovery from injury:
Atkins: He has been great. He looks great physically. The ball is jumping out of his hand, he's recovering very well. ... The last couple of years he hasn't pitched a ton, so I think fine tuning is where he is and making sure of his command, that's what's Spring Training is for. Spring Training, a lot of people use the term getting ready, it's really about refining and for guys who missed time, refining takes some time, a little bit more time, but we're extremely encouraged thus far.
On Clayton Richard:
Atkins: I would say almost, really, a very similar situation. Because of the knee procedure, he’s making sure that he’s not moving too quickly and making sure that he’s refining the skills and abilities he has. He’s fun to be around. The way he talks about his goals, the way he talks about his own continued development and how he’s trying to get better every day, it’s the type of professional that you’re very pleased to have.
On whether Luciano has a realistic shot to make the team:
Atkins: He has the stuff, and he has the ability. What will determine his ability to impact our Major League team is his heartbeat, and when I say heartbeat it’s not just that, but how he handles the expectation, the pressure, the actual execution as that pressure intensifies. It will only get greater.
He’s performed very well. He’s throwing the ball over great. It’s easy to see, even when he picks up the ball on the mound and even when he walks out onto the dirt, you can see that he’s relatively relaxed. In talking to him, he does feel the nerves, he does feel a little bit of the anxiety. He’s handled it well, exceptionally well thus far, but he has some time to go. There’s a lot of work ahead of him and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure he’s supported and give him the best chance to do that.