Maybe the most surprising angle to this year's Major League Baseball Amateur Draft was that Elk Grove slugger Rowdy Tellez was still on the board
going into the third and final day of the draft Saturday.
Baseball America had
ranked the 6-5, 220-pounder as the 59th best prospect in the draft,
the third-best first baseman. MLB.Com’s draft preview ranked him the 99th
best prospect overall.
![]() |
EGHS' Rowdy Tellez, drafted in the 30th round by the Blue Jays Saturday |
But,
Tellez said early on in the draft he knew things couldn’t be worked out between
him and any baseball club.
“I
was contacted by quite a few teams, but the timing wasn’t right (to be
drafted),” he said. “They didn’t have the things to offer us and as a family we
decided that education was the way to go.”
Tellez has already
signed a NCAA National Letter-of-Intent to play collegiately for Southern Cal.
“I’m now going to
USC and help them win a couple national championships,” he said. “Getting the
opportunity to play for a great program in the biggest media market and hit
home runs for them is something I can look forward to.”
On its website,
MLB wrote an impressive summary about Tellez prior to the draft: “Big, strong, left-handed-hitting first
baseman don't come through the Draft all that often these days. Tellez fits
that mold, and his ability to do damage with the bat was generating some buzz
this spring.”
But, the big first
baseman wasn’t selected by any club on the first two days. Finally, just past 2
p.m. local time Saturday, the Blue Jays took him in the 30th round,
the 895th pick overall.
“That’s just
another day, another game in the life of a baseball player,” Tellez said of the
Blue Jays selection of him. “I am looking forward to playing three years at
USC, get better and then be a first-rounder.”
Tellez says his
plans for the summer are a bit up in the air, but may join some USC teammates
playing in the Northwoods League for the St. Cloud franchise. Tellez’ mother is
from New Hope, Minn.
His Elk Grove teammate, Dom Nunez, apparently has committed to sign with the Rockies. He told the Sacramento Bee that prior to his
selection in the sixth round the Rockies phoned him.
"They
gave me a figure, and I called my parents to make sure it was OK," Nunez
told the Bee.
He said the
inducement to sign now was good enough that he won’t head to UCLA in the fall.
Nunez was also told by the Rockies he’ll play either third base or shortstop.
Nunez
batted .390 for the Sac-Joaquin Section champion Herd in 2013. He had four
homers, five triples, seven doubles and drove in 37 runs. He started all four
years at Elk Grove. This past season he played most of his games at catcher
after playing shortstop and third base much of the previous three years.
"I've
grown up playing shortstop most of my life," said Nunez told the Bee. "I only played catcher this
season to help my team win a section title."
“He
isn't especially toolsy, but Nunez plays above his talent level, thanks to his
feel for the game,” wrote the MLB Draft Central. “He has a good approach as a
hitter and provides gap power but probably won't ever be much of a power
hitter. He is still learning behind the plate, but is eager to improve.”
His
selection in in the sixth round is the second-highest any Elk Grove player has
been taken in the draft after graduation from high school. In 2011 J.D. Davis
was a fifth round pick by Tampa Bay. Davis did not sign and is now playing for
Fullerton State.
Linehan
was 3-7 with a 5.90 ERA this year for Fresno State. At Sheldon he was a
four-year starter, also playing first base for the Huskies.
“Linehan
had a disappointing season at Fresno St. after moving between the rotation and
the bullpen and struggling to find any consistency,” wrote MLB Draft Central.
“He still has good potential, however, because of two good pitches in his fastball
and curveball. His fastball sits in the low 90s and has good cutting action to
it while his curveball has late, sharp downward action. If Linehan can become
more consistent and add a third pitch, he could become a solid value for
whatever team drafts him.”
His
Bulldog teammate, Aaron Judge, a 6-7 centerfielder with great power potential, was
taken in the first round Thursday by the New York Yankees.
Selected
on the third day was Oregon State catcher Jake Rodriguez. He was taken by the
Astros to lead off the 19th round. He was the 557th
player overall drafted.
Following
his high school days at Elk Grove in 2010 Rodriguez was drafted by the Los
Angeles Angels in the 11th round, but turned down the offer to go to
college.
![]() |
Ore. State's Jake Rodriguez |
He
was named to the All-Pac 12 first team this past spring. Rodriguez threw out 67
percent of all base stealers this year from behind the plate. He batted .272
this year with two homers and 32 RBI’s.
Going
undrafted was Pleasant Grove’s centerfielder and pitcher Josh Adams. He was
rated in the top 500 draft prospects by Baseball America. Adams will attend UC
– Santa Barbara next year.
This
year the MLB Draft was staged over three days. Rounds one and two were on
Thursday evening. Selection for rounds three through ten were on Friday. On
Saturday rounds 11 through 40 were chosen.
The
MLB Draft, held each June, selects players who have just graduated from high
school or collegiate players who have completed three or more years of
play.
The highest any Elk
Grove-area player has been drafted was in 2007 when former Laguna Creek
outfielder Casey Weathers was taken in the first round by the Colorado Rockies.
At Sacramento City College Weathers became a pitcher and did so well that he
attended Vanderbilt on scholarship.
Weathers was the
eighth overall selection in 2007. His Vanderbilt teammate David Price, also a
pitcher, was the top draft choice that year and he was taken by the Tampa Bay
Rays.
Weathers is
pitching in the Chicago Cubs’ organization.
No comments:
Post a Comment