Tulowitzki Stock Doesn't Appear to Be Dirt-Cheap

By Eric Stephens

June 7, 2005 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

The patch of dirt halfway between second base and third on a baseball field is the place Troy Tulowitzki has called home since he was 5.

It’s just that back then, during tee-ball games, he had a hard time staying put.

“He chased down every ball,” his father, Ken, recalled. “The ball would be hit to the second baseman and he still wanted it. It got almost to the point where you had to say, ‘Troy, that’s your position. You have to stay there.’ ”

The last three years, Tulowitzki exhibited similar passion as Long Beach State’s shortstop, and his hard work and stellar performances are expected to pay off today in Major League Baseball’s annual draft.

Tulowitzki is projected to be selected as high as third overall, behind infielders Justin Upton of Great Bridge High in Chesapeake, Va., and Alex Gordon of Nebraska. At 6 feet 3 and 205 pounds, and with range and arm strength as good or better than any college player at his position, Tulowitzki has all the physical attributes big league teams covet.

“He makes plays and has arm strength that I’ve never seen,” said Evan Longoria, Long Beach’s third baseman. “He’s definitely a big league guy.”

He can also hit. Despite sitting out 20 games because of a broken bone in his left hand, Tulowitzki led the 49ers with a .349 batting average, along with eight home runs and 29 runs batted in while playing most of his games at pitcher-friendly Blair Field.

“I don’t think it’s really hit me yet, all the projections of where I’m supposed to go or the comparisons with big league shortstops. People saying that I have big league skills,” Tulowitzki said. “Right now, I’m just playing the game like I know how to play.”

As many as four other players from Southern California -- all juniors in college -- could go in the first round of the draft. Former Granada Hills High star Ryan Braun, who plays third base for Miami, USC catcher Jeff Clement and Cal State Fullerton left-hander Ricky Romero are projected as probable middle-of-the-round picks. Long Beach State ace Cesar Ramos, a left-hander, could go near the end of the first round.

Whatever happens for Tulowitzki today, it won’t make his week. He was hoping that he and Long Beach would be headed for an NCAA super-regional, and then perhaps to the College World Series in Omaha. But Pepperdine -- despite a Tulowitzki home run -- eliminated the 49ers from playoff contention Sunday.

“It’ll stay with me for a while,” he said of the loss. “I talk to guys who have been through this before. They still think about how they didn’t make it to Omaha. [Today] will be an exciting day, but it’ll be incomplete.”

That said, any day without baseball seems incomplete to Tulowitzki. When he was out of Long Beach’s lineup after getting hit by a pitch January 5 against St. Mary’s, second baseman Chuck Sindlinger joked that his teammate needed to be tied in his locker to keep from going crazy.

“He definitely got on our nerves,” Sindlinger said with a laugh. “He’s a big influence on our team and the way we play. He always comes out and plays as hard as he can.”

Tulowitzki has long admired the great shortstops of his generation, even wearing jersey No. 5 in honor of Nomar Garciaparra.

“It just seems like those guys have good leadership and they are some of the [league’s] best players,” he said. “Nomar. [Derek] Jeter. You’re a leader on that infield.”

Most often, Tulowitzki is compared to Oakland’s Bobby Crosby, a former 49er who was last season’s American League rookie of the year. Tulowitzki was a freshman when he met Crosby and they have remained friends since.

“He would be out at practices and we’d end up taking ground balls together,” Tulowitzki said. “He’d call me at home and ask if I wanted to go hit. I think I kind of caught his eye because I was always willing to work and learn from him and he really liked that.”

That comes as no surprise to Ken Tulowitzki, who coached his son through youth leagues and at Sunnyvale Fremont High. If the two weren’t together on the local fields, they would often make the drive to Oakland to watch the Athletics.

“I’m a big baseball fan and when we moved to Sunnyvale we got into a league with the right people and the right coaches who were very competitive,” Ken said. “He picked up on that and fell right into it. He plays baseball video games. That’s his life. He’s always had the mentality that he’s going to go as far as he can until he can’t play anymore.”

And until a team tells him otherwise, Tulowitzki will do it at shortstop.

Long Beach Coach Mike Weathers said some scouts have wondered if Tulowitzki might consider a move to third base.

That, the coach said, would be premature. “I tell the scouts the same I said about Crosby,” Weathers said. “Let’s just see how he plays that position first.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Draft order

Teams holding the top 10 picks of the Major League Baseball draft that will be held today and Wednesday:

FIRST ROUND

* 1. Arizona Diamondbacks

* 2. Kansas City Royals

* 3. Seattle Mariners

* 4. Washington Nationals

* 5. Milwaukee Brewers

* 6. Toronto Blue Jays

* 7. Colorado Rockies

* 8. Tampa Bay Devil Rays