At 21, Rowdy is close to roughing up MLB
Blue Jays’ powerful young prospect may not be in triple-A long, Rob Longley writes.
Ball after ball is clearing the centre-field fence during a recent morning batting practice session at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.
Naturally, it catches the attention of those Toronto Blue Jays players doing separate workouts in the field, and heads are turned.
“There goes Rowdy again,” one veteran says with a mix of admiration and the playfulness many teammates are heaping on the powerful young prospect these days.
Rowdy Tellez, the 21-year-old with the awesome baseball name, has certainly been a presence through the first 10 games of the Grapefruit League season. For a team with some long-term uncertainty at first base, his fasttrack development is welcome.
“Those guys who have a chance to be really good players, there’s something different about them,” Jays manager John Gibbons says. “He’s got great skills and great strength. They stand out anyway, your top guys.
“This year, Rowdy’s more mature. He’s in better shape. He’s really just kind of picked up where he left off.”
He is one of the most dynamic prospects in the organization, a player general manager Ross Atkins acknowledged may sooner than later help make up for the loss of big-hitting Edwin Encarnacion.
At six foot four and 220 pounds, he’s formidable at the plate, though leaner than a year ago. After a breakout double-A season with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Tellez is likely destined for triple-A Buffalo later this spring. But while he’s in Dunedin, the California native is determined to leave a lasting impression.
The left-handed hitter, who had 23 homers last season for the Fisher Cats, has complemented his power with solid contact percentages and is getting a good, long look at spring training.
“I’m going to go out there and work as hard as I can and leave everything up to the people who make those decisions,” Tellez says in an interview with Postmedia. “I’m going to be the best person, the best teammate off the field, and when the time comes, the time comes. I can only control what I can control: how hard I take my at-bats, how hard I play defence, how smart I play.
“I want to show them that I’m ready when they are. If it’s one pitch in one game, I’ll be there. If they need me for a long time, I’ll be there too. When it’s my time, it’s my time.”
“He’s been phenomenal,” Atkins says. “The biggest thing with Rowdy is he focuses on the work in a very authentic way. He focuses on little things like baserunning. He focuses on being a better teammate on a daily basis, and he’s 21 — that’s unusual.
“Then you factor in his power, plate discipline, a very solid defensive approach with his age … it’s all very encouraging.”
Tellez is savouring every minute of his second taste of major league training camp, soaking up as much as he can from veteran Troy Tulowitzki, one of his biggest mentors, chronicling his experience in a big red binder he carries with him.
“Tulo has been a guy who has — I won’t say pulled me under his wing, but just helped with a lot of mental stuff,” Tellez said. “When he came to Florida in the offseason, we hit, we took ground balls. I learned by watching what he does, how he talks, how he carries himself, how he always works with intent.
“There’s nobody here I’m afraid to go up to to ask a question. I couldn’t be more thankful to have guys like that in camp. It’s a great atmosphere to be in here.”
The feeling, apparently, is mutual. Tulowitzki — who until he met his student was Tellez’s video game shortstop — has been impressed with the prospect. After a loss on Sunday in which Tellez struck out twice in an ohfor-three day at the plate, he took time to answer questions from the kid.
“He listens. He works,” Tulowitzki said. “When you have both of those things and talent, that makes for a good player, so Rowdy has a bright future ahead of him. Even from last spring training to this spring training, you see how much better of a player he is and how much better and more comfortable he feels in the clubhouse.
“He’s a very focused kid and he can really hit. He’s going to be a good player.”
Tellez acknowledged that he has made defence a priority for improvement, recognizing the need for an accessory to his big bat. If the snag of a sharply hit ball by the Tampa Bay Rays’ Brad Miller to get an inning-ending out in the first on Sunday was any indication, it’s starting to pay off.
“I want people to understand I’m not just a bat-first guy,” Tellez said. “I can run bases smart. I know how to play defence. Everybody knocks my defence, but if you look at my stats, I’ve never been a bad defender. That just fuels the fire.”