Major League Baseball

Tulowitzki proves he's worth the hype

Published Nov. 11, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

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And to think, the only reason Troy Tulowitzki slipped to the Colorado Rockies with the seventh pick in the first round of the 2005 draft is that he wanted to play shortstop.

Milwaukee was ready to take him No. 5, but with J.J. Hardy already at short, the Brewers wanted Tulowitzki to agree to a move to third. Ditto Toronto, which had the No. 6 pick, but felt it was well stocked at short with No. 1 picks from 2002, Russ Adams; and 2003, Aaron Hill.

"When I came out of college, some people had their doubts,’’ Tulowitzki said. "They thought at 6-foot-2 and 200-some pounds, they thought I should be a third baseman. I didn't feel that way.’’

Seven years later, Tulowitzki's driven home his point — and then some.

This week, it was announced that National League managers and coaches voted him both the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards for being the best shortstop offensively and defensively.

"It validates me for a couple reasons,’’ said Tulowitzki. "I always felt I was capable at shortstop. Maybe I thought that more than other people, but I had no reason to doubt my ability.’’

Nobody else can doubt the ability anymore, either.

Watching Tulowitzki play brings back memories from a couple decades ago, when Hal Keller, at the time the scouting director and farm director of the Seattle Mariners, would emphasize to his minor-league personnel that before they tried to make changes to young players they needed to give those players a chance to fail.

"We aren't dealing with cookie cutters,’’ said Keller. "We sign kids and they have been successful all their life. So why do we think they can't continue to be successful? Besides, if a young man fails he will be more receptive to your suggestions.’’

Too often baseball executives can't resist meddling in the areas they hire other people to handle.

Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto is the likely NL MVP. He's also believed by many to be the reason Kasey McKeon was fired as the Reds scouting director. The Canadian Votto was an under-the-radar prospect in the spring of 2002. Reds scout John Castleberry uncovered him during a showcase in Florida, brought Votto to Cincinnati for a private workout, and McKeon, wanting to make sure nobody got wind of him, didn't inform anybody else, including then-general manager Jim Bowden.

Just last June, then-Arizona scouting director Tommy Allison wanted to draft left-handed pitcher Chris Sale of Florida Gulf Coast College sixth overall in the first round. The Arizona pro scouts who'd dabbled in the amateur evaluations pushed for right-hander Barrett Loux of Texas A&M, despite reports of arm problems. The pro scouts won the battle. Arizona wound up dropping contract negotiations with Loux because of concerns about his arm.

Sale? He went in the first round to the Chicago White Sox, 13th overall, and finished the season in the big-league bullpen.

In 2004, San Diego scouting director Bill Gayton was told he could draft the best player with the No. 1 pick overall, and was focused on Long Beach state right-hander Jared Weaver and Florida State shortstop Stephen Drew, both represented by agent Scott Boras.

Three days before the draft, then-owner John Moores threw Gayton a curve, vetoing his draft plans and drafting shortstop Matt Bush, who was a San Diego-area high schooler and who wasn't even on the Padres' wish list. Drew, with Arizona, and Weaver, with the Angels, have both established themselves in the big leagues.

Bush struggled at shortstop, prompting a move to pitcher, and battled offseason issues, eventually earning his release without ever advancing past the Single-A level.

The only other player in the first 24 selections that year not to make it to the big leagues? Rice pitcher Wade Townsend, the eighth pick overall by Baltimore, a selection ordained by owner Peter Angelos, who then declined to authorize the money to sign him. The Orioles were prepared to draft shortstop Chris Nelson, who went ninth overall to Colorado and made his big-league debut in 2010.

FIRST TIMERS

Cincinnati pitcher Bronson Arroyo joined Rockies Tulowitzki and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez as the only first-time recipients of NL Gold Gloves. Tulowitzki and Gonzalez, who was in his first full big-league season, both won Silver Slugger awards as well.

Gonzalez exploded on the scene in the second half of the 2009 season. With growing pressures to send him back to the minor leagues, manager Jim Tracy instead challenged him to prove he belonged in the big leagues. Gonzalez met the challenge.

Not bad for a guy who'd been the No. 1-ranked prospect in both Arizona and Oakland, but who both organizations dealt away. Yes, Arizona received right-hander Dan Haren in the Gonzalez trade, but Gonzalez was just one of six players sent to Oakland. Oakland then sent him to Colorado, along with closer Huston Street and left-handed pitcher Greg Smith, for Matt Holliday, who the A's in turn dealt to St. Louis midway through the 2009 season.

"When we got him you heard about 'five tools,' but you always hear about a guy having five tools, so you don't get carried away,’’ said first baseman Todd Helton. "It's not about tools. It's about how you play the game. Then he got here and you watched him and you realized he's got all five tools and something more. He's a very special player.’’

SCOUTING SCENE

— Allison, fired in the Arizona front-office shakeup, will assume a Midwest cross checker role with the Boston Red Sox, according to sources.

— Eddie Bane, let go as the scouting director with the Los Angeles Angels, has joined the Detroit Tigers as a pro scout.

— Gayton, who was never allowed to make his own first-round choice until his final year in San Diego, 2009, was hired as a pro scout by the St. Louis Cardinals.

OVERHEARD

— St. Louis is striking out in efforts to keep free-agent Jake Westbrook with a two-year deal. The free-agent pitching market is so questionable after Cliff Lee — and nobody other than the Yankees and Rangers even feel they have a shot at Lee — that Westbrook's value is rising rapidly.

Westbrook was 10-11 with a 4.22 ERA with the Indians and Cardinals last year. The numbers, however, that caught the attention of scouts were his 33 starts and 202 2/3 innings. Having undergone elbow surgery in June of 2008, which sidelined him the entire 2009 season, Westbrook alleviated concerns about the health of his throwing arm.

— Another sign of the confidence pitchers are feeling on the free-agent market this offseason is that Jon Garland would decline his $6.75 million option for 2011 with San Diego, which is a pitching paradise.

— Outfielder Jeff Francoeur declined his assignment to the minor leagues with Texas, becoming a free agent. Chalk up Colorado and Philadelphia as two teams with strong interest in the athletic right fielder. Both want a right-handed run-producing bat, and both teams intrigue Francoeur, who'd like to get an everyday chance at some point in 2011 so he can re-establish his value. He'd welcome a chance to play home games in hitter-friendly places like Coors Field or Citizens Bank Park. Not only could he be a right-handed alternative in the outfield with Colorado, but he also could be right-handed protection for Helton.

RIP

Dave Niehaus, the lead announcer in Seattle since the Mariners began playing in 1977, died of a heart attack this week, but the memory of him will never fade away. He was the face of the Mariners, even voted the No. 1 personality in franchise history when Major League Baseball sponsored fan voting.

Niehaus was one of those people who always extended his hand to others, and so it's only fitting that he often said the biggest honor he ever received was a citation from the Washington Council of the Blind.

"They said their members could see the game through my eyes, which is the ultimate compliment for a broadcaster,’’ Niehaus told the Seattle Times when he received the honor in 2004.

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