De La O Will Give it a Go in NoCo

It's been right around six months since outfielder Estevan De La O signed onto at least a spring with the Owlz. 

Both he and the club can't wait for De La O's opportunity at spring training.

"We are excited to have Estevan as part of the team," Owlz Associate General Manager Harrison Shapiro said. "He jumped out to us at the mid-season tryout with his speed and defensive acumen, and we feel he can anchor our outfield by keeping balls in front and flashing brilliant defensive plays."

The nifty New Mexican flashed a lot of brilliance in his college career. In fact, as a New Mexico Highlands junior in 2021, he won an ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award. 

"My goal has always been to be solid defensively," De La O said. "Going into Highlands, I wanted to be a Gold Glove-caliber centerfielder. So when I won the Gold Glove, it was a pretty big deal."

But there's more to this dude than just defense.

"I'm also guy who gets on base. I'm a gap-to-gap kind of hitter," he said. "I hit a lot of triples, so I'm a speed type of guy."

At the same time De La O was finishing his senior season in 2022, now-Owlz manager Frank Gonzales got his first opportunity to coach at the Triple-A level. It just so happened to be with the Albuquerque Isotopes, De La O's hometown team.

"He kind of knows where I'm from," the speedster said. "I thought that was pretty cool."

A pretty cool connection that's further coaxed this centerfielder to give it a go in NoCo.

"He seems very motivated, like he really wants to make this something special," De La O said. "It's my first professional opportunity, so I'm really excited. He's giving me a chance. This is the best opportunity to get my name out there and show what I can do, so I want to run with it."

Learn more about Estevan's career by visiting his Baseball Reference page.