Tellez to get every chance to prove himself
Jays recall power-hitting first baseman after successful tune-up with Bisons
It’s Rowdy time, again.
With the Blue Jays’ latest recall of powerful first baseman Rowdy Tellez on Tuesday, you get the sense there could well be more on the line than during his previous stops in the big-league clubhouse.
For the strapping California native, the final month and a half of the season could emerge as a crucial audition to prove definitively that he can hit and stick at this level and cement himself as an essential component of the young team’s promising future.
After sending him down to triple-A Buffalo on July 13 to recalibrate, the Jays are clearly hoping a month in the minors will help Tellez bring some consistency to that power and that he’ll join his young pals and emerge as the Jays first baseman of the future.
To that end, manager Charlie Montoyo acknowledged Tellez will be given every opportunity to prove just that.
Tellez started at first in Wednesday’s 7-3 matinee loss to Texas, batting sixth and ending the day 1-for-3 with a run scored and being hit by a pitch.
Down the stretch, Tellez is expected to get more opportunity to play first than veteran Justin Smoak, who will likely spend more time at DH.
“I want to see Rowdy,” Montoyo said. “He’s going to get enough atbats now that he’s back because he’s another guy we have to find out about.”
It’s not atypical for a veteran to lose opportunities late in the season, especially when September call-up time comes and the team is nowhere near a playoff race. And in Smoak’s case, given that he was shopped at the July 31 trade deadline, there’s a strong likelihood he doesn’t return next year.
But by all accounts, the 24-yearold Tellez went about his business in Buffalo in a professional and productive manner and has returned with a fresh mind and a straighter stance at the plate, which he believes has helped get his swing back on track.
“I definitely wasn’t playing up to what I was supposed to,” Tellez said of the demotion.
“I accepted it and went down there with the positive mindset, that I had to improve on what I was doing to get back here.”
Under the stewardship of Bisons manager Bobby Meacham and hitting coach Corey Hart, Tellez did just that. In his 26- game farm assignment, Tellez hit .366 (24-for93) with nine doubles, seven home runs and 21 RBIs.
While in Buffalo, there was an emphasis for Tellez to simplify his approach at the plate and stop chasing bad pitches, particularly the high fastball that major league pitchers were getting the best of him with.
Bo Bichette kept his on-base streak going with a sixth-inning double, extending his remarkable run of reaching base to all 17 of his major-league starts.
The shortstop tied L.A. Dodger great Bill Russell’s 1969 mark for second place in that category among players 21 or younger, behind only Rocco Baldelli, who made it to 24 games in 2003. It was his only hit in five plate trips, striking out twice.
The Jays have won 11 of 17 games since Bichette was called up. He has 27 hits overall, the best through 16 career games (post-1913) since the 30 by Joe DiMaggio in 1936.
Toronto is still above .500 at 1716 since the all-star break, though the Rangers bit into their impressive 3.30 ERA, which was fourth best in baseball.
This week was a happy homecoming for ex-Jay Chris Woodward, now the Rangers’ manager.
Twelve of his 19 seasons were in Toronto, where he met future wife Erin, made the city his winter quarters for a few years, and was thought of highly enough as a local to have a TV appearance on Degrassi: The Next Generation.
“My family (three kids) was started here,” he told the Dallas Morning News. “My daughter (Sophie) was born here. My first dog was from here. I was like three-quarters Canadian at that point.”
Woodward was a late-round draft choice in 1994, arriving with the big team five years later. His first career homer came May 31, 2000, and he enjoyed a three-homer game in 2002.
“It was weird managing against them in Texas (earlier this year),” Woodward said. “I’ll always be grateful to this organization for giving me a shot and taking a chance on me. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the Jays. with files from Lance Hornby rlongley@postmedia.com lhornby@postmedia.com