Lourdes Yunielki Gurriel Castillo Jr

He is a versatile player in Cuban professional baseball who plays as a left fielder, second base, and shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He played for the Sancti Spíritus team and the Industriales of Cuba's National Series before emigrating to the United States. Gurriel was classified as one of the best available international prospects after his arrival in the USA.

He is the son of Lourdes Gurriel, the Giant of Escambray, a Cuban legend who took home a gold medal in 1992. Additionally, his two brothers are baseball players, one of whom competed in the Olympic Games and the World Series.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. debuted in Cuba's National Series with Sancti Spíritus in 2010 at age 16 as a pinch hitter, batting .200 in 15 at-bats in 16 games. The following season, he participated in 55 games and batted .227 with three home runs and 16 runs batted in (RBIs). In his final season with Sancti Spíritus, Gurriel batted .253 with four home runs and 32 RBIs in 67 games.

In 2013, Gurriel joined Industriales, played 45 games and batted .218 with one home run and 17 RBIs. Before the start of the 2014 season, he represented Cuba in the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games, winning the gold medal. He appeared in 63 games in 2014 and improved significantly compared to his 2013 campaign, batting .308 with eight home runs and 42 RBIs.

With Industriales in 2015, he batted .344 with 10 home runs and 53 RBIs. After the Cuban League season, Gurriel agreed to a contract with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), but did not appear in any games for the team and was placed on the restricted list.

In February 2016, Gurriel and his brother Yulieski defected after competing in the Caribbean Series in the Dominican Republic.

In August 2016, Gurriel was declared a free agent by Major League Baseball (MLB) and ranked as the sixth-best available international prospect. In September, he showcased his skills at Rod Carew Stadium in Panama to an attendance of 60 MLB scouts. On November 12, Gurriel signed a seven-year, $22 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Gurriel participated in spring training with the Blue Jays and was assigned to the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Advanced-A Florida State League on March 17, 2017.

Gurriel started the season on the injured list with a leg injury. He made his minor league debut on April 18, but left the game with a recurrence of the same injury. On July 12, Gurriel was promoted to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Double-A Eastern League after appearing in 18 games for Dunedin. In total, Gurriel played in 64 games in 2017 and batted .229 with five home runs and 36 RBIs. He played for the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League (AFL) during the offseason.

Gurriel started the 2018 season with New Hampshire. He batted .347 in 12 games and was promoted to the majors on April 20. In his debut that night, Gurriel recorded two singles and three RBIs. On April 28, Gurriel hit his first career home run, against Bartolo Colón of the Texas Rangers.

On July 27, Gurriel recorded his first multi-home run game by connecting two home runs in a 10-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Upon collecting a pair of singles in Toronto's game against the White Sox the following night, Gurriel became the first rookie in the modern era of baseball to have 10 consecutive games with multiple hits. The last rookie to achieve this feat was Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1911.

On July 29, Gurriel broke Jackson's rookie record with his eleventh consecutive game with multiple hits. Jackson also set the American League's overall record with a streak of 11 games with multiple hits in 1912. Simultaneously with breaking Jackson's 1911 rookie record, he also tied Jackson's historical American League record. However, on his third hit of the game on July 29, he was injured and subsequently placed on the injured list.

On September 25, Gurriel was sidelined for the remainder of the season due to left hamstring pain.

After starting the 2019 season batting .175 in 13 games and struggling with throws from second base, the Blue Jays sent Gurriel to the Buffalo Bisons of the Triple-A International League. In Buffalo, Gurriel began playing as an outfielder.

In defense in 2019 with Toronto, he led all Major League left fielders in assists with 9. Offensively, he finished batting .277 with 20 home runs in 84 games. Overall with the Blue Jays in 2020, he batted .308 with 11 home runs and 33 RBIs in 57 games, and was named one of three finalists for the Gold Glove Award.

In 2021, Gurriel established career offensive highs, batting .276 with 21 home runs and 84 RBIs in 141 games with Toronto. He also set a club record for most grand slams in a season, including a dramatic slam that tied the game against the Oakland Athletics on September 5. He also led all left fielders with 12 assists and was named a Gold Glove Award finalist for the second consecutive year.

Lourdes and his brother made history in baseball on September 21, 2018, when each hit two home runs, becoming the first brothers to have multi-home run performances on the same day.