The 2017 season has featured a pretty steep learning curve for Toronto Blue Jays prospect Rowdy Tellez.
The Buffalo Bisons slugger made a great impression in spring training and hit a home run in his first game of the triple-A season, with Tellez later admitting that he had bought into his own hype.
“That’s where my ego got in my way,” he said during an interview on Sportsnet Today on Tuesday. “I got humbled real quick.”
Tellez has since bounced back, putting together an impressive run in August that featured a 12-game hitting streak. The 22-year-old has benefited from some advice from the same man whose job he could be competing for one day soon: Justin Smoak.
“He helped me a lot with trusting my hands and using my feet to field ground balls, so just being able to have guys like Smoaky and then our staff help me, has been a great confidence booster and it makes me want to work to be just as good as guys like Smoaky,” he said.
[relatedlinks]
Smoak’s all-star play has been a bright spot in the Blue Jays’ disappointing season, answering many of the questions that swirled around the first-base position after Edwin Encarnacion left in the off-season.
Tellez said he sees Smoak’s success as an inspiration.
“He’s having an incredible season and I’m extremely happy for him and his family and his team. He deserves it,” said Tellez. “He’s always been a great guy on and off the field and he deserves to have the season he’s having and I couldn’t be more happy for him. He’s an MVP-calibre player and he’s playing his tail off right now.
“So there’s no double-edged sword — it’s something that I look up to and I see him and how hard he works and what he’s done and it gives me motivation and trust that it all works out,” he said. “He’s doing great and I’m extremely happy for him.”
Listen to the full interview here:
