3 reasons why Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is struggling to perform at an MVP level

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays have the firepower to compete against the best and become one of the premier teams in the MLB. Before the season began, experts and observers put them right at the top in terms of teams who stand a chance of winning it all this year. They currently stand in third place in the American League East, behind the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees.

However, as we stand on the cusp of the third month of the 2022 season, it is fair to say that both Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays have underperformed expectations. Guerrero Jr. is hitting .263 with eight home runs and 22 RBIs in 42 games this year, well below where he stood at this point last year. So why isn't he living up to his hype?

3 reasons why Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is struggling to perform at an MVP level

#1 Swinging for more pitches

Vladimir Guerrero hit 48 home runs in 2021 — the most in the MLB. This year, Yahoo Sports reports that Guerrero has swung at 7.3% more pitches outside the zone.

"Good Morning. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has a 135 OPS+ this season. Collectively we were probably overreacting. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk." - @ Vot6

A hitter like Guerrero hits for power and is bound to strike out a lot. In 2021, Vladdy struck out 110 times, placing him in the top 100 batters. Any player who finishes with a .601 SLG is going to wind up. When you miss, you miss.

#2 Guys ahead of him are not getting on base as much

Anyone who knows baseball knows that any middle-order hitter needs his leadoff guys to get on base a lot if he is going to get a lot of RBIs this season.

"Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR) has failed to exceed 1.5 total bases in 15 of his last 16 games (1.0 total bases/game average)." - @ Fansure MLB

Unfortunately, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who usually hits third in the Blue Jays lineup, has not had many runners in scoring position. Santiago Espinal, the leadoff man, has an average of .284 this year, down from the .311 he finished with in 2021, translating to a 24-point decrease in OBP. It may not seem like much, but it has accounted for a sharp drop in Guerrero Jr.'s production.

#3 Pitchers are copping on

Usually after such an amazing season, like Guerrero Jr. had in 2021, opposing pitching coaches tear apart every stat you have. For example, a majority of Guerrero Jr.'s strikeouts this year have come on 1-2 fastballs.

On 1-2 counts, he is batting only .107. Last year, Guerrero hit .143 in such situations. Another telling stat is Guerrero's abiding struggles against left-handed pitchers. Last year, he faced a comparatively small number of lefties, hitting a respectable .295 off of them. He has hit only .143 against left-handers in 2022. Watch for teams to start sending him a lot more lefties.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. remains one of the best hitters in the game. Although he has hit only .167 over his past seven, expect the slump to eventually subside, and get ready to see the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. return.