MONTREAL, QC – MARCH 25: Look on Toronto Blue Jays infielder Bo Bichette (66) during the Milwaukee Brewers versus the Toronto Blue Jays spring training game on March 25, 2019, at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Bo Bichette declared that he was ready for the big leagues earlier this month, and now the Toronto Blue Jays appear to agree.
After Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got promoted, Bo Bichette became the top prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays’ organization and earlier this month he declared himself ready for the big leagues. On Sunday, in the wake of the trade that sent Eric Sogard to the Tampa Bay Rays, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reported Bichette is being called up.
At 40-67 and clearly in sell mode approaching the trade deadline, presenting hope for the future is the new, clear plan in Toronto.
Over 244 plate appearances for Triple-A Buffalo this year, Bichette posted a .275/.333/.473 slash line with eight home runs, 32 RBI and 15 stolen bases. He’s a top-10 prospect in all of baseball, as ranked by MLB Pipeline, and like Guerrero, Bichette is the son of a former Major Leaguer (Dante Bichette).
Guerrero has not instantly set the world on fire to the level it was easy to expect him to, with a .259/.335/.422 slash line (.757 OPS), 10 home runs and 38 RBI over 76 games (316 plate appearances) entering Monday. But he does have multiple hits in four of his last six games (and six of his last 10), which is a nice sign of progress for the 20-year old.
The Blue Jay start a series against the Kansas City Royals on the road Monday night. There is no lineup out as of this writing, but it would be an upset if Bichette isn’t in it.
Bichette played a little second base in the Minors, but his larger body of work and Major League future is clearly going to be at shortstop barring something unforeseen. With Guerrero set to hold down third base long-term, barring a marked physical change as he gets older, the Blue Jays can now offer fans of a last place team (and the baseball world as a whole) a glimpse at the future left side of their infield.