Slugging outfielder Cristian Guerrero has slugged 46 home runs in his first three seasons with the RailCats, and will look to build on that impressive total in 2011

Guerrero, 30, returns to the Northwest Indiana for his fourth season as a RailCat where he has produced unprecedented power numbers at pitcher-friendly U. S. Steel Yard, hitting a franchise-record 19 home runs in 2010 which broke his own record of 16 set in 2008. Guerrero is the all-time RailCats leader in home runs (46) and in slugging percentage (.478) and the outfielder has also amassed 174 RBI (fourth all-time) and 86 extra-base hits in 224 games.

Guerrero was a mainstay at the heart of Manager Greg Tagert’s lineup in 2010, helping the ‘Cats advance to an unprecedented six consecutive playoff berths. Guerrero batted .285 in 2010 and his .529 slugging percentage is the second highest for a RailCats player in a season. Guerrero’s 2010 campaign was highlighted by undoubtedly the best single day ever by a RailCats hitter on Wednesday, June 9 at Road Ranger Stadium in Rockford, when Guerrero went on a power binge nearly unprecedented in over 100 years of professional baseball history. The Dominican slugger went deep in his last two plate appearances of the first game of a doubleheader, then hit three home runs – on three consecutive pitches – in his first three trips during the nightcap. The RailCats swept both games en route to a series sweep of the RiverHawks and Guerrero made national headlines, including on Jayson Stark’s ESPN baseball blog and in esteemed industry publication Ballpark Digest. Guerrero finished the night 5-for-7 with those five home runs, eight RBI, six runs scored and a walk, adding a deep sacrifice fly in his last at bat and took home Northern League Player of the Week Honors.

In 2009, Guerrero missed the first 30 games of the season and slowly regained his stroke as the year wore on.  Guerrero went just 5-for-38 in the month of June, but rebounded to hit .228 in July and .265 in August, when Guerrero hit seven of his 11 home runs and piled up 27 RBI in 26 games.  A native of Bani, Dominican Republic, Guerrero was at his best in 2009 with runners on base, batting .351 with runners in scoring position and going an impressive 17-for-35 with runners in scoring position and two outs.

The cousin of Major League superstar Vladimir, Guerrero broke the RailCats longest-standing team record in his first season with the ‘Cats, hitting his 16th home run of the 2008 season August 27 at U. S. Steel Yard against the Schaumburg Flyers, besting Jermaine Swinton’s team record of 15 set in 2002.  Beyond the home run total, Guerrero had a terrific 2008 overall, batting .312, adding 15 doubles and three triples to his 16 home runs, and racking up a career-high 63 RBI.  Guerrero also stole 15 bases in 2008, slugged .516 and banged out 105 hits in 85 regular season games.  In the 2008 postseason, Guerrero was just as good, hitting .345 and blasting a pair of home runs in the RailCats Northern League Championship Series Game One win over the Kansas City T-Bones.

In his 13-year professional career, Guerrero has already reached a number of milestones, playing in his 1,000th game and collecting home run 100 and RBI 500 during the 2008 season.  In 2009, Guerrero notched his 1,000th career hit and enters the 2011 season with a .272 career average and prodigious .442 slugging percentage.

Guerrero began his career at age 17, playing with the Milwaukee Brewers affiliate in the Dominican Summer League in 1998.  Guerrero came stateside in 1999 and earned Pioneer League All-Star accolades in each of his first two seasons, hitting  over .300 each year, including a .341, 12-homer, 54 RBI season in 66 games in 2000 with the Ogden Raptors. Guerrero reached Double-A in 2002 as a 21-year-old and was named one of the Brewers top 10 prospects by Baseball America for three consecutive seasons.  Guerrero was signed by the Seattle Mariners in 2003 and went on to spent time with the Los Angeles Angels and Washington National organizations before joining the independent ranks with the Atlantic League’s Camden Riversharks in 2007.