DUNEDIN, Fla. — Emilio Guerrero is working hard but still knows how to have fun.
The 21-year-old Toronto Blue Jays’ prospect is a Dominican Republic native who signed with the club back in 2011 as an international free agent.
In Dunedin, the Toronto Blue Jays have a training facility where player development is a long process in which the young shortstop is taking advantage.
He has been training hard during spring training, preparing for the upcoming season. This is the time in which strengths and weaknesses are isolated so that players can work on their skills.
“Batting and defence [are the strongest areas in my game], last year wasn’t a really good year for me in batting, but I’m getting better,” said Guerrero.
There is sure to be improvement by the end of spring training with weak areas.
“[I will] work harder on my defence, my patience, my pitches, and work on my batting.”
This is Guerrero’s fourth year with the Jays and throughout his time with the minor league franchise, he still knows how to stay grounded and he knows what he wants.
“To be honest, starting off you have to work hard to get to the top of your division, but at the same time you have to learn how to enjoy yourself and have fun.”
This pre-season spring training session should be a help with the many coaches and trainers available.
With Guerrero, he is one of the many players that hail from the Dominican Republic and he credits Robinson Canó as being someone he looks up to.
“Robinson Canó, he is a great batter.”
Canó, who is also from the Dominican Republic, is currently playing for the Seattle Mariners as an infielder.
Future goals for Guerrero include hoping to get a spot on the 40-man roster for the Toronto Blue Jays.
He loves the game of baseball and wants to stay in it for as long as possible, which is very doable for such a young player. He has many more years of playing ball ahead of him wether it be in the minors or the majors.
Emilio Guerrero was named Midwest League Defensive Player-of-the-Month for July.
“[I plan to] work hard to last in this sport because it’s a beautiful sport. Enjoy it because even thought it’s a job its still a game, so an athlete has to enjoy what he does.”