Mature beyond his years, Tovar to take up mantle of shortstop

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Ezequiel Tovar looks and acts as if he’s done this before, even if he’s barely done it at all.

He debuted last Sept. 23 as the youngest position player in Rockies history, just weeks past his 21st birthday. The sum effect of his assuredness and his work in the Majors is that the Rockies feel confident in giving their No. 2 prospect every shot to be their Opening Day shortstop.

When the Rockies speak of Tovar, their words don’t match his age. Maybe it’s because they saw him seamlessly grow up fast.

Spotted at age 13 while living away from his Maracay, Venezuela, home, playing against older players at 17 and stuck in the U.S. during the 2020 pandemic shutdown, Tovar impressed everyone with his maturity. Only left hip/pelvis inflammation, which cost him all of July and August and half of September, delayed his debut.

But for maybe a minute at the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick complex this weekend, Tovar let on that, like most 21-year-olds, he dreams. However, he already is about to live the dream.

“I tell my teammates all the time, I go to bed and I’m just kind of shocked and surprised at where I am,” Tovar said through an interpreter, with fingers gesturing, eyes flashing and mouth nearing a visionary grin. “I thank God every day. I wouldn’t have imagined this, but I’m very grateful.”

It’s good that Tovar has managed to maintain the joy that comes with a child’s game, even if he has to be the latest man in the middle of the Rockies’ diamond.

Tovar does not have to light up camp. It’ll be hard to match his Spring Training last year, when he hit .550 (11-for-20) with three home runs and two doubles to win the Abby Greer Award as camp most valuable player. He starred at Double-A Hartford (.318, 13 HR, 47 RBIs in 66 games before the injury) and Triple-A Albuquerque (.333, 1 HR in five games), and he showed confidence and savvy all the way.

“That’s the thing that stood out with those people who have had him [in the Minors] -- his overall wherewithal mentally is going to enable him at a young age to potentially be our shortstop,” said Rockies manager Bud Black, who watched Tovar play nine games and hit .212 with a homer, off Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw in the season finale.

Growing up in Maracay, Venezuela, Tovar’s family and extended family was large enough that they could play baseball games, often with rolled up socks as a ball. He patterned his shortstop play after his older brother, Anthony, now 28. His father, Ronney, instilled the practice ethic, and his mom, Geppsey, ensured he made it to showcases for scouts.

But with the rocky relationship between the U.S. and Venezuela, agent Roberto Vahlis moved his academy to the Dominican Republic. A 13-year-old Tovar lived in the dormitory for eight months with mostly older players. Rockies area scout Frank Roa was scouting players closer to being eligible to sign, but vice president of international scouting and development Rolando Fernández told him, “There’s a little 13-year-old …”

Fernández added, “Roa did a good job. He said, ‘I’m here already.’ You look at a player’s instincts and ability, and you keep an eye on him.”

After signing on Aug. 1, 2017 (his 16th birthday -- the first day he was eligible to sign) for an $800,000 bonus, Tovar played well against mostly former college players at Boise (.249, 2 HR, 13 RBIs). When he turned old enough under Colorado law to work at night, Tovar joined Rookie-level Grand Junction under Andy González, now the Rockies’ assistant hitting coach.

He impressed González then (.264, .357 on-base percentage), and later.

“It was the COVID year,” González said. “He couldn’t go home. He was here by himself. That [was] a part of why he is very mature for his age. When I saw him last year, he was ready.”

Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt was a coach in the Reds system in 1984 when he saw youthful Mariners prospect Omar Vizquel, and he sees comparisons between the two. But Schmidt emphasized that Tovar’s job is simply to “make the routine plays.”

Schmidt’s advice would be cautionary for young players who chase highlights but create lowlights. But bring up that possible pitfall to Tovar, and he emphasizes hard work, not idle dreams.

“You’ve got to practice all the plays, whether it’s a simple play or that big-time, fancy play,” Tovar said, gesturing with his hands for emphasis, not exuberance. “All those plays must happen coming out of practice."