Less equals more for Bisons' Tellez

A slimmed-down version of Rowdy Tellez wasted little time showing that less can be more. He wasted no time, in fact.
The Blue Jays' No. 5 prospect homered in his first Triple-A at-bat and again two innings later to power Buffalo past Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 4-2, in the International League opener for both teams. Tellez slugged a career-high 23 jacks last year with Double-A New Hampshire.

Asked after the game why he wanted to lose weight, the 22-year-old was to the point.
"I mean, nobody wants to be big," Tellez said. "It's easier to move when you have less weight.
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"I changed my diet and a lot of people helped me. My girlfriend helped me a lot with changing my diet and getting my body right and getting myself back on track. The smaller I am, the more agile I'll be around the [first base] bag and better I'll be on defense and on the bases."
Both clubs had to wait two extra days to start their season, thanks to inclement weather in Buffalo. Tellez warmed things up for the chilled crowd of 7,418 at Coca-Cola Field when he launched a second-inning solo shot to left-center field in his first at-bat. He became the first Bison to go deep in his first Triple-A plate appearance since Brad Glenn against Rochester on Aug. 15, 2013.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder yanked his second long ball of the day over the wall in right off RailRiders starter Johnny Barbato in the fourth for his third career multi-homer game and first since Aug. 7. After the game, he wanted to focus on the present and what's to come for him and his Bisons teammates.

"It's a new season," Tellez said. "We're not focusing on what I did last year and it's about this year and moving on and getting myself prepared for this year. It's nice to have a good, strong second half and build on it ... but just being ready for this year and getting myself in the best situation I can to help the Bisons win."
Former big leaguer Bobby Meacham, who earned his first win as Buffalo skipper, is no stranger to Tellez's talents after managing him last season with New Hampshire.
"He was aggressive. I think that was the biggest thing -- aggressive with anything in the zone," Meacham said after the game. "They got it out over the plate and he hit it out to left-center and the second one, I think they were convinced they could get inside on him and he was ready for it. 

"He can cover the whole plate and he's a hitter first with some power. He's just developing his power, but he's a really good hitter. He's a really good hitter that keeps getting better because he studies the game, he knows the game. He's a good baserunner and he keeps working on his defense. He's fun to work with."
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre trimmed a 3-0 deficit to a single run in the sixth against Buffalo starter Jarrett Grube. Yankees No. 2 prospectClint Frazier grounded an RBI double to left and scored on Kyle Higashioka's groundout.
Grube (1-0) allowed two runs on six hits with three strikeouts in five-plus innings. Blue Jays No. 21 prospect Danny Barnes retired all four batters, striking out one, to earn his first save.
Barbato (0-1) was charged with two runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts in four innings.