Prospect Heat Check: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is going to be a star just like his dad

Nothing tantalizes and titillates baseball people quite like someone whose talent is so obvious, so preternatural that he defies every expectation of what he can and should be. And so with that in mind – and with a certain amount of caution but even more excitement – two scouts this week offered the same opinion: By the end of the 2017 season, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is going to be the best prospect in baseball.

This is fascinating for any number of reasons. First is Guerrero’s age: He is barely 18 years old and playing for the Lansing Lugnuts, the Class A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Rare is the low-level teenage player who generates such widespread acclaim that he is even considered among the elite of the elite. Moreover, never has the son of a Hall of Famer – the elder Vlad fetched 71.7 percent of the vote this year, his first time on the ballot, and will be inducted in 2018 as a nine-time All-Star with a career .318/.379/.553 line – been this good.

Only 11 Hall of Famers’ sons have played in the big leagues, and the best of them – Eduardo Perez, Dick Sisler and Dale Berra – were average players. Vlad Jr. is not average. He is a 6-foot-1, 220-pound third baseman who impressed scouts last year in rookie ball and this season is causing regret for the other 29 teams that didn’t pony up the $3.9 million the Blue Jays paid to sign him in the summer of 2015.

Born in Montreal, reared at the Dominican academy of his uncle Wilton Guerrero, Vladimir’s brother, Junior is hitting .327/.422/.500. He has uncommon plate discipline for a teenager: 25 walks against 23 strikeouts. The worst thing one can say about him is that his body – never exactly his calling card – will force a move from third base. Idealistically, he’ll wind up at a corner-outfield spot. First base may be his ultimate destination.

While landing at first tends to erode a player’s prospect value, Cody Bellinger’s torrid start for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season reminds that a truly special bat carries immense value no matter the position.

It propelled Guerrero to the top of this season’s first Prospect Heat Check. It will ensure his place in plenty more. In the meantime, here are 29 more prospects worth keeping an eye on as the minor league season grinds into the summer months.

Bo Bichette, SS, Toronto, Low-A
Guerrero isn’t even the best-performing second-generation player on his team. While older brother Dante Jr. has stalled out in Double-A with the Yankees, the 19-year-old Bo is hitting .372/.452/.598 and drawing raves from scouts. One believes he’s more of a second baseman long-term but sees an All-Star bat there. Among Bichette, Guerrero and Anthony Alford, the Blue Jays have three of the most dynamic players in the minors.

Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, San Diego, Low-A
While on the subject of second-generation players, we’d be remiss not to mention Tatis, who, like Guerrero, is the rare full-season 18-year-old. Even if he’s not producing like Guerrero, a .271/.347/.441 line isn’t shabby, and between Tatis’ immense raw power and the price the Padres paid for him – he was the main return in the James Shields deal with the White Sox – getting him was one of general manager A.J. Preller’s finest moves.

Ronald Acuna, OF, Atlanta, Double-A
Might as well stick with precocious teenagers. The Braves, who are promoting players as aggressively as anyone, bumped Acuna to Double-A at 19, and all he has done in 21 games there is hit .415/.467/.634. An average on balls in play well over .500 helps, and that will normalize. Still, in an organization teeming with prospects, Acuna has the best chance to be a star. He’s got legs to match the bat. With 12 stolen bases at Double-A and 14 more in 28 games at High-A, his 26 swipes are second in all the minors.

Kolby Allard and Mike Soroka, LHP and RHP, Atlanta, Double-A
Two more teenagers at Mississippi who are doing things well beyond their years. The Braves took Allard with the 14th pick in 2015 when a back injury caused him to drop in the draft, and all he has done this year is put up a 1.83 ERA in a league where he’s the youngest pitcher at 19. Soroka is nine days older, taken 14 picks later by the Braves out of high school in Calgary, and has been every bit as impressive.

Joey Wentz, LHP, Atlanta, Low-A
The pride of Shawnee Mission East High in Kansas – currently home of freshman Robert Moore, the talented son of Kansas City GM Dayton Moore – went to the Braves last year for an over-slot bonus of more than $3 million. Wentz’s 3.18 ERA is all the more impressive considering balls in play are falling nearly 40 percent of the time. His peripherals tell a far better story: In 39 2/3 innings, he has struck out 42, walked eight and not allowed a home run. His fastball can run up into the mid-90s, and among the Braves’ deep cache of minor league starters, he may have the most upside.

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Bar Under Fire for ‘Racist’ and ‘Classist’ Dress Code

The Bottled Blonde, a bar in Chicago, just issued a dress code that some view as racist. (Photo: The Bottled Blonde)

A bar that wants to maintain a “classy atmosphere” has released a dress code, which some are calling racist.
The Bottled Blonde, a pizzeria and beer garden in Chicago, recently posted a sign on its doors outlining a lengthy dress code. Here are a few examples from the list of banned items:


“No Excessively Baggie, Sagging, Ripped, Dirty, Frayed, Overly Flashy, or Bright clothing. No hawaiian, tie dye, floral, skull prints, or anything else obnoxious. No gang attire (leather cuts, colors, or insignias) and no camouflage.

 No Embellishments or Statement [attire]. No plain white tees, long tees, denim, flannel … or zippers on shirts. … Tank tops before 6 PM only. … No Jordans, Nike Air Max, or Air Force Ones. … Hats must be worn forward at all times.”

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Trump asks Supreme Court to reinstate travel ban

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to immediately reinstate its ban on travelers from six mostly Muslim countries, saying the U.S. will be safer if the policy is put in place.

The Justice Department filing to the high court late Thursday argued that the federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, made several mistakes in ruling against the Trump travel policy.

Immigration officials would have 90 days to decide what changes are necessary before people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen may resume applying for visas. It takes a majority of the court, at least five justices, to put the policy into effect.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals called the national security concerns an after-the-fact justification for a policy that was "rooted in religious animus and intended to bar Muslims from this country." The appeals court ruled against reinstating the travel policy by a 10-3 vote last week.

The Justice Department is "confident that President Trump's executive order is well within his lawful authority to keep the nation safe and protect our communities from terrorism," spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said. "The president is not required to admit people from countries that sponsor or shelter terrorism, until he determines that they can be properly vetted and do not pose a security risk to the United States."

The administration also wants to be able to suspend the refugee program for 120 days, a separate aspect of the policy that has been blocked by a federal judge in Hawaii and is now being considered by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Trump signed his first executive order on travel a week after he took office in January. It applied to travelers from the six countries as well as Iraq and took effect immediately, causing chaos and panic at airports as the Homeland Security Department scrambled to figure out who the order covered and how it was to be implemented.

A federal judge blocked it eight days later, an order that was upheld by a 9th Circuit panel. Rather than pursue an appeal, the administration said it would revise the policy.

In March, Trump issued a narrower order, but federal courts that have examined it so far have blocked it as well.

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Ananya Vinay crowned Scripps National Spelling Bee champion

After almost a week of competing, months of preparing and over a dozen final rounds of performing on ESPN, the champion of the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee has been crowned.

Ananya Vinay, a native of California, captured the title at the prestigious spelling championship after correctly spelling gifblaar and marocain back-to-back.

Vinay looked shocked as she correctly recited the spelling of the last word, while runner-up Rohan Rajeev stood to the side with his hands covering his face having just missed his last word.

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Kathy Griffin to Hold Press Conference to Address Controversial Photo Shoot, ‘Bullying From Trump Family’

Kathy Griffin and attorney Lisa Bloom have scheduled a press conference on Friday where Griffin will elaborate on her decision to do a photo shoot in which she held up a bloody prop that resembled Donald Trump’s severed head.

In a press announcement she posted on Twitter, Bloom said that she and Griffin will “explain the true motivation behind the image, and respond to the bullying from the Trump family she has endured.”
After she posted images from the photo shoot on Twitter on Tuesday, Griffin apologized, saying that she “went too far.”

Trump blasted Griffin for the image, saying that she should “be ashamed of herself,” and that his 11-year-old son, Barron, was “having a hard time with this. Sick!” Another one of Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr., also blasted Griffin, and challenged CNN for her role in its New Year’s Eve coverage.

CNN dropped Griffin from its New Year’s Eve telecasts on Wednesday. Griffin has not commented beyond an apology video she posted on social media.

The images were part of a photo shoot that Griffin did with photographer Tyler Shields.

Republicans have seized on the incident in an effort to tie Democratic candidates with her. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a Super PAC aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan, began airing a spot called “Kathy” that characterizes her as a supporter of Jon Ossoff, a Democrat seeking an open seat in a Georgia special election later this month.

“It’s not funny. These angry liberals will go to any extreme to elect Jon Ossoff,” the ad says.
According to the Washington Examiner, Ossoff’s campaign issued a statement in which they called what Griffin did “despicable,” and called on his GOP opponent, Karen Handel, to “demand this ad be pulled before any more children have to see these disturbing images on TV.”


Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) on Thursday said that he believes that “it would be best” for Griffin not to take part in a planned July 7 event in Beverly Hills, in which she was told hold a conversation with him to talk about his new book.

 “I understand why Minnesotans were upset by this, and I take that very seriously,” Franken said, according to Politico. Republicans had been seizing on plans for the event to attack Franken.

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Rob Kardashian Is Reportedly Dating ‘Bad Girls Club’ Alum Mehgan James

Rob Kardashian might be moving on from Blac Chyna. According to reports, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star is dating Bad Girls Club alum Mehgan James.

Both People magazine and Us Weekly have confirmed that Rob is seeing Mehgan. A source tells Us Weekly the romance is “fairly new.” That same insider adds that Kardashian, 30, and James, 26, are trying to keep their relationship out of the spotlight and that they aren’t ready to go public.

The news comes just one day after Kardashian declared his love for Chyna, 29, on social media. The couple welcomed daughter Dream in November 2016. The volatile — and occasionally betrothed — couple has been on again, off again throughout most of their rocky romance.

According to In Touch, which first reported the relationship news, his famous sisters don’t approve of his new romance.

“Rob’s been seeing [reality star] Mehgan James for almost three months, and most of the Kardashians are very upset about it because Mehgan is known for being out of control and volatile,” alleged a source. “The Kardashians want Rob to find a woman who is kind and calm.”

However, Us Weekly claims that James has settled down.

“She’s matured and will be a good fixture in Rob’s life should this continue,” the insider says.

And People‘s sources says they’re a good fit. “Mehgan’s been supporting Rob and his business for some time now,” says one insider. “They’ve been really close friends for about three months.”

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