On July 6, 2021, the Brewers made a seemingly minor transaction by acquiring Rowdy Tellez from the Toronto Blue Jays. At the time it seemed like a temporary option to fill the gap of a struggling Keston Hiura and injured Daniel Vogelbach. However, Rowdy quickly became endeared by Brewers fans who had no hesitation showering “Rowdy, Rowdy, Rowdy” chants down on the 26 year old. Let’s take a look at how Rowdy performed in his inaugural Brewers season.
Tellez Offensive Grade: B+
Tellez came to Milwaukee after hitting .209 with four home runs and 33 strike outs through 50 games played in Toronto. Standing at six feet, four inches, Tellez has an imposing stature at the plate with power to all parts of the ballpark. Tellez came to Milwaukee and struggled to find his groove in the new surroundings. Tellez mustered just one hit through his first nine games. Fortunately, Tellez broke out with a multi-hit game against the White Sox on July 23. From there, Tellez went on a seven game hitting streak hitting three of his seven home runs.
Over the course of the remaining regular season games, Tellez would finish the year with a .272 batting average and .814 OPS with the Brewers. One of the more impressive stats for Tellez, was his 18.4% strikeout rate which was a career best. Despite a strong regular season, Tellez’s top moment of the 2021 campaign came from the post season.
In a series where offense was hard to find, Tellez gave the Brewers fans something to remember in game one of the NLDS against Atlanta. With a scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the 7th inning, Tellez delivered a massive two run shot that gave the Brewers the lead to hold for good.
Rowdy Tellez. Two-run BOMB 🔥
Brewers get on the board pic.twitter.com/2clcMg166s
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) October 8, 2021
Overall, Tellez is still a young player with a lot of potential. His strong 2nd half of 2021 showed the kind of impact his bat can have on a game. Tellez certainly endeared himself with Brewers fans with his offensive power potential. The Big Man looks to be a key competitor for the first base job heading into 2022.
Tellez Defensively: B
Coming from Toronto and being used as a DH often, Tellez was a bit of an unknown in the field. Tellez logged 46 games at first base in 2021 for Milwaukee. In those 46 games, Tellez posted a career best .988 fielding percentage with four errors. With his size and stature, Tellez showed he can play a solid first base. With more experience Rowdy can be a reliable option every day.
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