Vlad Jr. to make 2019 Triple-A debut

Baseball's top prospect is inching closer to the major leagues.

Toronto Blue Jays minor leaguer Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is moving to Triple-A to play with the Buffalo Bisons and will be in the team's lineup on Thursday.

The 20-year-old, who is ranked as the No. 1 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, has been rehabbing from a strained left oblique. He went 4-for-15 in four games with Class-A Advanced Dunedin.

On Tuesday, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said he'd been in touch with Guerrero and told him, "Just stay down there in that nice weather until you get good at the plate and feel comfortable, and then you’ll go to Buffalo. That could happen anytime," according to Sportsnet's Shi Davidi.

Guerrero has been one of baseball's most highly touted prospects since signing with Toronto as an international free agent in 2015. Since then, he's authored a .330/.413/.526 slash line with 41 home runs and 201 RBIs during parts of four minor-league seasons spanning multiple levels.

The Blue Jays will get a seventh year of club control over the promising third baseman if he's kept in the minors until this Friday, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.