Rowdy Tellez

Rowdy Tellez

29-Year-Old First Baseman1B
 Free Agent  
Free Agent
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Tellez looked well on his way to a second straight 30-homer season in 2023 after putting eight over the boards in April. Things mostly went downhill after that, though. The 28-year-old missed six weeks of action with forearm and finger injuries and by the time he returned in late August Carlos Santana had taken over at first base for the Brewers, leaving Tellez to fight for starts at designated hitter. He did very little with the at-bats he was given down the stretch and Milwaukee chose to non-tender him this offseason. Tellez's hard-hit rate (40.4 percent) and barrel rate (8.7 percent) both dropped off significantly last season, while his strikeout rate (24.5 percent) went up. His age and track record suggest Tellez will bounce back to some degree in 2024, and he should get regular starts at least versus righties after signing with Pittsburgh over the winter. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#588
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $3.2 million contract with the Pirates in December of 2023. Contract includes up to $800,000 in performance-based incentives. Released by the Pirates in September of 2024.
Becomes free agent
1BFree Agent  
September 26, 2024
The Pirates released Tellez on Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
Tellez is now a free agent after previously being jettisoned from the Pirates' 40-man roster. The 29-year-old has hit just .231/.295/.385 over the last two seasons and is a poor defender at first base, so he could be facing a limited market this winter.
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Batting Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
4
27
38
18
9
3
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
1
2
2
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+18%
OPS vs RHP
2024
 
 
+2%
OPS vs RHP
2023
 
 
+30%
OPS vs RHP
2022
 
 
+24%
OPS vs RHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .625 232 16 7 19 0 .199 .302 .323
Since 2022vs Right .736 1139 115 54 173 3 .231 .299 .436
2024vs Left .679 46 4 2 4 0 .200 .304 .375
2024vs Right .692 375 34 11 52 1 .248 .299 .394
2023vs Left .530 52 1 1 4 0 .174 .269 .261
2023vs Right .691 299 25 12 43 0 .223 .294 .396
2022vs Left .644 134 11 4 11 0 .209 .313 .330
2022vs Right .801 465 56 31 78 2 .222 .303 .498
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+16%
OPS at Home
2024
 
 
+6%
OPS at Home
2023
 
 
+4%
OPS at Home
2022
 
 
+29%
OPS at Home
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .771 670 69 37 109 2 .231 .309 .462
Since 2022Away .667 701 62 24 83 1 .221 .291 .376
2024Home .711 216 24 8 32 0 .241 .301 .410
2024Away .670 205 14 5 24 1 .245 .298 .372
2023Home .682 159 11 7 25 0 .217 .283 .399
2023Away .654 192 15 6 22 0 .214 .297 .357
2022Home .866 295 34 22 52 2 .231 .329 .537
2022Away .673 304 33 13 37 0 .208 .283 .391
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Rowdy Tellez compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.35
 
BB Rate
7.4%
 
K Rate
21.1%
 
BABIP
.280
 
ISO
.149
 
AVG
.243
 
OBP
.299
 
SLG
.392
 
OPS
.691
 
wOBA
.304
 
Exit Velocity
89.4 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
30.4%
 
Barrels/PA
5.7%
 
Expected BA
.237
 
Expected SLG
.394
 
Sprint Speed
19.4 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
37.5%
 
Line Drive %
19.4%
 
Fly Ball %
43.1%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Rowdy Tellez See More
Collette Calls: Bold Hitter Predictions Accountability
57 days ago
Jason Collette reviews the hits and misses from his hitting half of his preseason bold predictions, including big hits on Brenton Doyle and Mark Vientos.
Weekly Hitter Rankings: Last Ups
61 days ago
Ryan McMahon and the Rockies finish the season with six straight home games.
MLB DFS Picks: DraftKings Plays and Strategy for Monday, September 16
67 days ago
Cody Bellinger has a .500 OBP and 1.350 OPS during his current five-game hitting streak. He's a top hitter for Monday DraftKings MLB DFS contests.
Weekly Hitter Rankings: The Playoff Push
68 days ago
Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers are one of 14 teams with a seven-game schedule from September 16-22. Todd Zola highlights the matchups and unveils his weekly hitter rankings.
Weekly Hitter Rankings: Scoring is Way Down
75 days ago
The Cleveland Guardians are one of six teams with seven games the week of September 9 to September 15. See how they and the rest of the MLB rank in Todd Zola's weekly hitter rankings.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
When Tellez was deal to Milwaukee, fantasy managers had hoped that he would be freed from the shackles of a platoon situation and we could finally see what the slugger could do as a full-time player. For better and for worse, that indeed happened in 2022. Tellez had 599 plate appearances and his StatCast profile has a high volume of dark red ink on it, but the .219/.306/.461 triple-slash line shows the risks of exposing the lefty slugger to too many lefty pitchers. That approach worked in 2019 when the fortunes went his way and he hit .270/.317/.513 against lefties in the AL, but went .209/.313/.330 against lefties in the NL this past season as he swung and missed at nearly 50% of the non-fastballs he saw from southpaws. The new shift rules could potentially add a few points of average to his line, but he otherwise remains a two-category contributor.
Big, beefy and with a penchant for clutch late-inning home runs, Tellez quickly became a fan favorite in Milwaukee after he was traded from Toronto for relievers Trevor Richards and Bowden Francis in early July. As with the acquisition of Willy Adames from Tampa Bay, the Brewers went 2-for-2 on buying low on AL East hitters who went on to mash with their new club. Tellez hit .209/.272/.338 in 50 games with Toronto and his playing time had gotten pretty irregular by May. With Milwaukee, he hit .272/.333/.481 with seven home runs, an 8.0 BB% and an 18.4 K%. Tellez has been in the 94th percentile or better in max exit velocity in each of the past three years and has logged a linedrive rate over 20% in each big-league season. Getting his flyball rate over 40% would go a long way toward him getting the most of his huge raw power in games. He doesn't show strong lefty/righty splits, and if the National League gets the designated hitter, he could get a chance to play almost every day.
Tellez posted impressive power metrics in 2020, highlighted by a .257 ISO, 81st percentile hard-hit rate and 79th percentile average exit velocity. While Tellez has always shown the ability to crush fastballs, he also made improvements when confronted by breaking pitches. In 2018 and 2019, Tellez posted expected slugging marks of.409 and .392, respectively. In 2020, that mark jumped to .531. Another important development in Tellez's skill profile was his improved contact rate, which jumped from near 70% in his first two big-league seasons to 78.7% in 2020. This was backed by a more aggressive approach on pitches inside the zone, as his swing rate in those scenarios rose from 63.4% to 70.1%. If Tellez can maintain the more discerning approach at the plate, 2021 may be the year he gets a full slate of plate appearances as the Blue Jays' designated hitter.
Tellez broke camp with the Blue Jays, expected to absorb most of the at-bats vacated by Kendrys Morales leaving. The burly left-hander played regularly over the first half, splitting time between first base and designated hitter. In July, Tellez lost playing time before being sent to Triple-A Buffalo. At the time, he was slashing an anemic .227/.280/.436. Tellez spent a month with the Bisons, righting the ship with a 1.138 OPS. He returned in mid-August, posting an improved .226/.325/.481 the rest of the way. Tellez has plus power, but poor plate skills. Fanning at a 28.4% clip isn't as dire anymore, but he needs to improve on a 7.1% walk rate. Solid contact and patience in the low minors suggest Tellez can improve at the major-league level. Still, long term, Tellez profiles best as a designated hitter, perhaps facing just righty pitching. He is in play for cheap power but is not assured a regular role.
While Yankee fans were enjoying Luke Voit and Rays fans enjoyed Ji-Man Choi, Jays fans got a pleasant surprise with their own September slugger. Tellez has been a solid hitter throughout his minor-league career, with above-average power and defensive limitations due to his size, but he stalled out a bit at Triple-A. Nobody could have predicted the small-sample offensive explosion he had last season with the big club (13 extra-base hits in 73 PA). Statcast did not support his September production, as his xwOBA was 80 points below his actual mark. In plain English -- the quality of his contact was not as good as the actual outcomes of his at-bats. Additionally, his 28.8 K% and 2.7 BB% in that tiny sample suggest major regression was coming. Tellez should head back to Triple-A with Justin Smoak and Kendrys Morales on the big-league roster. He may get another chance in 2019, but should not be expected to recapture last year's brief success.
The subject of much doubt as he raked at each stop in the lower levels, Tellez, a 30th-round pick in 2013, always answered the bell. That is, until he got to Triple-A. Scouts who saw Tellez remarked on how it seemed like he wasn't getting good breaks on balls in play, and his .264 BABIP bears that out. However, that doesn't explain why he hit just six home runs in 122 games en route to a .110 ISO -- easily the worst mark of his career. His walk rate (9.4 percent) and his strikeout rate (18.8 percent) were fine. Triple-A pitching may have just vexed him -- sometimes guys hit a wall as they climb through the ranks. Entering his age-23 season, it's possible he can make some adjustments and earn a big-league promotion. However, with Justin Smoak and Kendrys Morales around, he not only needs to show significant improvement before getting called up, but would likely need an injury to open up a spot for him.
Few first base prospects can match Tellez's excellent contact skills (17.9 percent strikeout rate) and patience (12.3 percent walk rate) while also projecting to bring a plus hit tool and plus power to the equation. There is that tiny sliver of doubt that he will hit for enough power to profile as an above average fantasy first baseman, as this marked his first season with 20-plus home runs, but a future home in the American League East should help matters. It will be worth monitoring his ability to hit lefties as he moves up the ranks. He hit .264/.345/.456 in 125 at-bats against southpaws at Double-A, which isn't bad, but it illustrates a notable platoon split. The bat is good enough against righties that a Matt Adams-esque career is the worst-case scenario. The Blue Jays kept him at Double-A all season so he likely won't reach the majors until late 2017, at the earliest.
He may have been a 30th round pick, but Tellez has quickly shot up through the team’s prospect rankings and is now a top-10 prospect in the organization. At just 20 years old, he stands an imposing 6-foot-4, 245 pounds and is a left-handed masher, picture perfect for Rogers Centre one day. He split his season between Low-A Lansing and High-A Dunedin, collectively hitting for a .289/.347/.454 slash line with 14 home runs and 77 RBI. He played particularly well when he moved up to Dunedin, hitting for a .811 OPS and seven home runs in 35 games. Tellez plays first base by necessity and doesn’t really have any speed either defensively or on the basepaths. He may start the season back at High-A Dunedin, but advance to Double-A by midsummer.
More Fantasy News
DFA'd by Pittsburgh
1BPittsburgh Pirates  
September 24, 2024
The Pirates designated Tellez for assignment Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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Out again versus righty
1BPittsburgh Pirates  
September 24, 2024
Tellez is not in the lineup for Tuesday's contest against the Brewers.
ANALYSIS
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Idle against RHP
1BPittsburgh Pirates  
September 21, 2024
Tellez is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Reds.
ANALYSIS
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Getting Wednesday off
1BPittsburgh Pirates  
September 18, 2024
Tellez isn't in the Pirates' lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.
ANALYSIS
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Held out of lineup vs. righty
1BPittsburgh Pirates  
September 16, 2024
Tellez is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Cardinals.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Falls short of incentive
1BPittsburgh Pirates  
September 24, 2024
Tellez was designated for assignment by the Pirates on Tuesday just four plate appearances shy of earning a $200,000 incentive for reaching 425 plate appearances in 2024, though GM Ben Cherington said that played "no factor at all" in the roster decision, reports Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
ANALYSIS
Cherington's denial is hardly a surprise, but it does little to soften the bad optics for the Pirates. Tellez hasn't been particularly productive this year with 13 homers and a .243/.299/.392 slash line in 132 games, and he especially struggled in September with a .464 OPS. The move certainly makes sense given the 29-year-old's production and since he'll be a free agent this offseason, but the timing isn't a great look with just a few games left in the regular season.
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