BIOGRAPHY
Rowdy Tellez was born on March 16, 1995, in Sacramento, California. He is a first baseman and designated hitter in the MLB.
Born in Sacramento, California, he is the oldest child of Greg and Lori (née Bernick) Tellez. He is Jewish. His father said of him before he was born: "We didn't know the sex and we didn't want to know, and we stayed away from calling him 'Baby' or 'It.' But he was so active in there, moving around all of the time in the womb, that we ended up calling him 'Baby Rowdy,' and it stuck. Now he's just 'Rowdy,' and that's how everybody knows him." Tellez is of Mexican descent through his father, and his paternal grandfather played in the Mexican Baseball League.
In 2013, Tellez was both a Baseball America and a Rawlings First Team High School All-American. He was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 30th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft. In 2015, Tellez was a Midwest League All-Star, and named to the Arizona Fall League (AFL) All-Prospect Team and an AFL Rising Star. The following year, he was named an Eastern League All-Star, an MiLB.com Toronto Blue Jays Organization All-Star, and a Baseball America Double-A All-Star.
He made his major league debut in 2018, and is the only player since 1913 to hit seven doubles in his first seven major league games.
On July 6, 2021, Tellez was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for pitchers Trevor Richards and Bowden Francis.
In the 2021 regular season for the Brewers, Tellez batted .272/.333/.481 with 10 doubles, 7 home runs, and 28 RBIs in 158 at bats. He hit a 2-run homer in the first game of the 2021 NLDS off Charlie Morton, providing the winning margin as the Brewers went on to beat the Atlanta Braves 2-1. He hit another 2-run homer in Game 4, though the Brewers lost that game and the series to the eventual World Series champion Braves.
On May 4, 2022, Tellez set a Milwaukee Brewers record with eight RBIs in one game, doing so with a double and two home runs in an 18–4 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
On May 8, 2022, Tellez received the NL Player of the Week Award.
In 2022 he batted .219/.306/.461 in 529 at bats, with 35 home runs (5th in the NL), 89 RBIs, 9 intentional walks (4th), and 15.1 at bats per home run (3rd). The maximum exit velocity of balls he hit was 116.9 mph, 7th-highest in major league baseball. On defense, his .998 fielding percentage was second-best among NL first basemen.
On January 13, 2023, Tellez agreed to a one-year, $4.95 million contract with the Brewers, avoiding salary arbitration.
Tellez signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 2024 season.
