Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reaffirms the excitement of MLB fans waiting eagerly to see their stars take to the field

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is as excited as anyone about Spring Training.

Training is set to begin on February 25 with two Cactus League games before the rest of the teams begin their endeavors on February 26. The positional players will come to training no later than February 22, giving the roster plenty of time to get to know one another and get their bodies ready for the 2023 season. The pitcher and the catcher have been asked to arrive by February 17.

Guerrero took to Twitter in excitement:

"Welcome to Spring Training."

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It's safe to say that the anticipation and excitement of everyone associated with the sport cannot be contained.

Spring training will take place in Phoenix and Florida, with the former hosting the Cactus League and the latter the Grapefruit League. All baseball teams are evenly split between the two leagues, and up until March 28, each team will play an equal number of games. On March 30, the 2023 MLB season will officially begin.

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The World Baseball Classic will begin before spring training gets underway. Hence, some of the players representing their nations in the WBC '23 shall join the training to loosen their bodies and arms and get some rounds of hitting going. Some of the stadiums scheduled to host the spring training games will also host some Group C and Group D games in the WBC round robin rounds.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays look set for the upcoming season

Competition isn't exactly abundant at this camp, but the No. 5 starter's position is. Yusei Kikuchi has the advantage (in terms of potential and contract), but Mitch White and everyone else the Toronto Blue Jays signed will get their chance.

The Blue Jays have a strong senior core and a youthful core that has gained experience in the major leagues, but their squad lacks the upside to move into an elite group of MLB teams. The audience will be anticipating a reprise of Vladimir Guerrero and Alek Manoah's 2022 season performances.

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But don't anticipate a lot of patience with Kikuchi. With No. 1 prospect Ricky Tiedemann on the way and Hyun-Jin Ryu possibly coming back from Tommy John surgery midway through the season, the No. 5 position might change a lot. The hitting order should mostly remain the same, with the only absentees being Teoscar Hernandez and Raimel Tapia.

About the author

Karan has been a baseball sports betting expert, analyst and content strategist at Sportskeeda since 2022. He holds a Master's degree in Sports Management from Virginia Commonwealth University, and worked with the VCU Rams baseball team as a trackman analyst. He started following the sport at 18, watching postseason on television.

Karan is a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers owing to their successful history in the sport, and their consistent performances at the highest level. He admires Mookie Betts’ on-field defensive and offensive prowess, along with his off-field charitable exploits, while Bruce Bochy is his favorite coach.

The Mets’ miraculous rally from a two-run deficit in the 1986 World Series Game 6 in the bottom of the 10th inning despite being two outs and two strikes down is his all-time favorite baseball moment.

Karan’s strengths are player profiling and technical deep dives, for which he always refers to reliable sources such as the social media handles of the best MLB analysts.

When not strategizing, he likes to read, listen to music, go for a run, and watch sit-coms.

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