It's a shame Alexis Rios made his major league debut Thursday night in those gawd-awful Toronto Blue Jay uniforms with the hideous logo, the muddy colours and the annoying numbers. But watching Rios play against Anaheim in his debut and against Texas tonight and it's easy to see what the hullabaloo is all about.
He looks about 18 and he surely must look seven tall to the pitchers. Think early Dave Winfield. A couple of hits and another two stung balls in seven plate appearances suggest he's not fearful of the major league pitching he's seen so far. And he covers a mile and a quarter in eye-blink speed, using that speed to catch a foul ball tonight that was boringly brilliant.
Rios will be headed back to Syracuse and a slightly disappointing International League season when Frank Catalanotto gets off the injured list. But two nights of watching him patrol an outfield that includes Vernon Wells and Reed Johnson in what might be the AL's best defensively, makes me wonder what Frank the Cat would get in trade value.
Watch for Alexis Rios at a ballpark near you. He's a star in the forming.
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