The journey of Rowdy Tellez has been well chronicled by basically every sports media outlet in this city, as well as here on Fifth Avenue (if you could call this site a sports media outlet).
But now this long and winding road has reached an interesting new twist. Rowdy Tellez has actually been good. Like, really good.
There was no better display of that then on Saturday, when Tellez was able to turn a PNC Park crowd that booed him relentlessly into one that chanted his name when he provided this spark:
Though it felt like Rowdy’s Pirate career may have done a complete 180 in just one swing, that home run (just his second of the year) was the culmination of a lot of behind the scenes work.
Tellez has credited a lot of influences with his recent improvement at the plate, including his father and his childhood hitting instructor Dee Brown.
That extra time has made a real difference, even before we really started to notice. Yes, Rowdy had a great home stand, with 6 hits in 13 at bats, 2 doubles, a homer, and 3 RBI.
Since May 17th, however, Tellez has been slashing .333/.366/.487. In those 12 games, he has a total of 7 RBI, although a caveat there is that all of those runs brought home have come in only two games (June 2nd in Toronto and June 8th vs Minnesota).
June has seen the bulk of the improvement take place; Tellez has 9 hits and 4 multi-hit games so far this month.
It’s a massive improvement from the Tellez that we’ve seen to start the year. It really does say a lot that this hot streak has only brought his season batting average to .218 and his season OPS to .579.
But with this surge from the first baseman, an interesting question does arise. How much time has it bought him? If his hot streak were to end tomorrow, how much time could he ride that before we are right back where we started with him?
For many fans, I know that the answer is not long at all, and I definitely understand that. But if there is any hope for Rowdy finally becoming the player the Pirates envisioned he could be for them, this is probably the best surge to bank on.
When Tellez had that 4 RBI game in that loss to Toronto last week, I wrote that Rowdy had just bought himself another month with that performance. While the title was perhaps a little tongue in cheek, the sentiment was very real. Here’s how I closed that piece:
“So I have no doubt that this flash in the pan becomes the latest thing that the team clings to, even if Tellez can’t build off of this in the near future.
“If he does, well then that’s truly excellent. But if he doesn’t (and history suggests he won’t), this game will be the one that kept him around much longer than it should have – again.”
Tellez had several flash in the pan moments before, but none of them had ever led to anything. They fizzled out way too quickly.
To his credit, he proved me wrong on this one. He has built off that initial surge and now has a hot streak that has lasted longer than any previous one.
So what do you do about his future?
The man who was Pittsburgh’s most popular DFA candidate has legitimately earned some more time in a Pirates jersey.
David Todd (@DTonPirates) who is a good follow on Pirates Twitter ran a poll asking this question, and the results indicated a majority of fans were willing to keep him for now and work on a short-term evaluating process.
As for myself, if my name was Ben Cherington, I would give him a few weeks to show that this is not a fluke.
Part of this is due to the fact that the Pirates don’t have anybody waiting in the wings to play first base. At the height of the Tellez dis-satisfaction, veteran Jake Lamb was the common pick to be his replacement.
Lamb, a regular major leaguer in the mid to late 2010s and the definition of an AAAA player ever since, has cooled off tremendously from a very hot start in Triple-A with the Indianapolis Indians.
Lamb was once among the batting leaders in the International League, and while he still sits at 7th place in the IL, his batting average over his last 15 games is just .246 in Triple-A.
The team has no blue chip first baseman prospect; it’s only veterans whose best days might be behind them (Jake Lamb) or lower-level prospects who still need more time to show consistency in the minor leagues (Matt Gorski).
So with that taking place in the farm system, and with Tellez’s boost for now, I would keep Rowdy around for now. After what I’ve seen from him in recent days, one bad game is no going to be enough to overturn the new-found willingness I have to keeping him.
However, if he fully reverts back to his old self, then the Pirates and Tellez need to go their separate ways.
His recent history and overall major league career all point to his .333 batting average over the last few weeks being impossible to maintain, so I don’t expect that pace to continue.
However, what I would expect, in order for him to keep his job, is to bat around .250 for the next few weeks. The Pirates don’t need him to be Superman, but they do need him to show that he can consistently make good contact with the ball and get on base.
But how about you? How would you handle Tellez if you were the general manager? I’d love to know.
(Featured photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
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