Salt River notes: Jays' Tellez thriving in AFL

MESA, Arizona -- With just 35 games of experience above full-season Class A, Rowdy Tellez is one of the greener prospects in this year's Arizona Fall League. That's nothing new to the Blue Jays slugger.

"I've always been playing up," Tellez said Wednesday at Sloan Park after his Salt River team beat Mesa, 12-6. "Growing up, I always played with older guys, and I realize that's where my comfort level is. Obviously it's a little bit different now going older than it is in high school or growing up, but it's fun. Everybody has their expectations -- 'Oh, he's just a young guy' -- but when you exceed expectations at every level, that's what makes it fun. It's always fun being the young guy."

Tellez has played that role throughout his baseball life, including this season when, after batting .296/.351/.444 with seven homers and 49 RBIs in 68 games for Class A Lansing, he was promoted to Class A Advanced Dunedin at the age of 20. There, Toronto's No. 7 prospect boosted his OPS, posting a .275/.338/.473 line with seven more dingers and 28 RBIs. It could be argued that both assignments were aggressive for the 2013 30th-round pick. The prestigious AFL is certainly that way, and it's also giving Tellez an opportunity to take cues from players a step or two ahead on the ladder.

"You just ask every question you can," he said. "Anything that pops into your mind when you're talking to the guys is what you ask. You work out with older guys in the offseason, especially hitters, and you get to pick their brains and even pitchers, how they throw certain guys.

"If you face them down the road, they kind of forget that they talked to you about that, and you've got a little setup on them," he added with a laugh.

The hulking first baseman is approaching his AFL stay with the mind-set of getting better across the board, but extra focus is going into his work in the field.

"The big thing is defense," the 6-foot-4, 245-pounder said. "Everyone's going to doubt my defense, but I always find that it's better than what everybody feels. I'm not going to be able to get the balls that everybody else can, but if I can make the routine plays, that's all that matters."

Tellez posted a .987 fielding percentage with Lansing, committing six errors in 51 games. He was better in the Florida State League with just one miscue in 24 games for a .995 mark.

"One guy whose brain I've picked the most is [Mets No. 5 prospect and fellow Rafters first baseman] Dom Smith," Tellez said. "I think we're a month and a half apart in age. We grew up playing against each other and with each other. Just to learn from him, his approach to hitting, his approach to defense, learn how he goes about the game is what we bounce off each other. He asks me about how I approach it when I hit, and he's a really good defender. That's who I usually talk to about everything."

An enhanced approach to defense certainly hasn't slowed Tellez at the plate. Through his first 13 games in Arizona, the Elk Grove, California, native was batting .288/.321/.500 with three homers and 13 RBIs. With Double-A realistically in his sights in 2016, Tellez is getting a taste of what could also be in the not-so-distant future in his career.

"You get the big league clubhouse," he said. "Obviously for a bigger guy like me, the food is better. You're playing on great fields, great atmosphere.

"They treat us like big leaguers. It's not like, 'Hey, you need to go do this.' You've just got to get it done. You've got to do it yourself. Nobody's hounding you to get anywhere. If you're hurt, you need to get into the training room. If you need to lift, you need to get in to lift. They're not going to ask you to come do it. You handle your business and grow up out here."

In brief

California love: Speaking of Smith, a California native like Tellez, the Mets prospect is leading the AFL at the plate. Through his first 12 games, Smith's .385 average was the best in the circuit, and his 13 RBIs were tied for second. The 20-year-old spent all of his 2015 season with Class A Advanced St. Lucie, batting .305/.354/.417 and earning end-of-season All-Star honors in the Florida State League.

Straight to the Tapia: No. 8 Rockies prospect Raimel Tapia had put up just two multi-hit games through his first 13 AFL contests before breaking out Nov. 4. Tapia started his day by blistering a fly ball to center field and racing around the bases for an inside-the-park home run in the first inning. The outfielder then lifted what seemed to be a routine fly ball to left field and reached second base when it fell between three Mesa fielders. Tapia added singles to left-center in the fifth and ninth and walked in the seventh. The performance lifted his average 61 points to .300 and his OPS from .620 to .821.

Salt River racing: The Rafters were just 6-6 on Oct. 28 after a 2-0 loss at Peoria, but they rocketed to the top of the East Division with six straight wins. The winning streak is the longest in the AFL this season, one game better than Scottsdale's five-game run from Oct. 28-Nov. 2.