Report: Guerrero, Bichette starting in Double-A

On Thursday night, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette gave Blue Jays fans a glimpse of how close they are to the Majors. The former went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI and the latter clubbed a two-run homer off Pirates closer Felipe Rivero during rare Grapefruit League appearances for the duo.
On Friday, Blue Jays fans found out exactly how close these phenoms will be.

Guerrero and Bichette -- MLB.com's No. 3 and 13 overall prospects -- will begin the season with Double-A New Hampshire, Jays president Mark Shapiro told TSN on Friday. 
The promising infield pair will make the jump to the Eastern League after spending 2017 together at Class A Lansing and Class A Advanced Dunedin. Guerrero, a third baseman, hit .323/.425/.485 with 13 homers and an incredible 62/76 K/BB ratio in 119 games between those two stops. Bichette, a shortstop, won the Minor League batting title with a .362 average and had 14 homers, four triples, 41 doubles, a .988 OPS and 22 stolen bases in 110 contests.

On stats alone, it'd be difficult to argue that both sluggers did not earn the assignments to the Minors' second-highest level. However, they'll be two of the younger -- if not the youngest -- players at Double-A. Guerrero celebrated his 19th birthday last week, while Bichette turned 20 on March 5.
The two have been tied at the hip since Opening Day last season. After their stellar starts with Lansing, both participated in the All-Star Futures Game in Miami and were promoted to Dunedin immediately after. Though it's tempting to think that will continue as they get even closer to Toronto, the organization has warned that there may come a day when they're on different rosters.
"There may and probably will be a time in the future where they're not playing together," Blue Jays director of player development Gil Kim told MiLB.com earlier this month. "That being said, we look at each player individually, and maybe some of the checkmarks or some of the development goals we saw last year and the progress being made toward those goals resulted in the timing of the moves. It worked out to where they were together. Keeping those two guys together, obviously there are advantages to cultivating that camaraderie and that teammate leadership engagement. But at the same time, at some point they may not be together."
Before Guerrero and Bichette head to New Hampshire, both will participate in the Blue Jays' exhibition series in Montreal next Monday and Tuesday. The pair of games will have a particular significance for Guerrero, whose father played for the Expos from 1996-2003.