Manchester, NH - With generational talents Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Double-A Blue Jays) have quickly become one of the most talked-about teams in baseball.

With Thursday's season-opening win -- a 6-0 rout in Hartford -- the buzz continues to build in advance of New Hampshire's first home game on Friday, April 13 in Manchester.

In a list of "Baseball's Most Exciting 1-2 Punches" ESPN placed Guerrero and Bichette next to Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton and Nationals aces Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg.

ESPN's Keith Law ranks the Fisher Cats among the top rosters in the minor leagues, noting that New Hampshire is the only team with two of the top 10 prospects in the game.

MLB.com ranked New Hampshire as the fourth-most talented roster in MiLB, and No. 1 at the Double-A level.

Guerrero and Bichette were both featured on MLB.com following Thursday night's win.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe highlighted the Fisher Cats top prospects leading into the season as well.

Guerrero Jr., the son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, is ranked No. 3 among all prospects by Baseball America, and made headlines with a Spring Training walk-off home run in Montreal's Olympic Stadium last month.

Bichette, the son of former major leaguer Dante Bichette, is ranked No. 8 by Baseball America, and won the 2017 MiLB Batting Title with a .362 average.

Cavan Biggio, the son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio and a fifth-round pick out of Notre Dame, got his first two Double-A hits and RBIs in Thursday's win.

"We pride ourselves on creating a fantastic experience for our fans, no matter who is on the field," said Fisher Cats President Mike Ramshaw. "But this season, our fans are especially excited about the can't-miss major league talent they'll get to see in New Hampshire -- all for just $12 a game. After watching Vlad and Bo hit in batting practice last week, I can't blame them."

Tickets to next Friday's home opener are still available, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium. The Fisher Cats host the Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies) from April 13-15, and Tim Tebow's Binghamton Rumble Ponies (New York Mets) from April 16-19.


Posted 4/6/18