Strong work ethic and "bulldog" mentality help Buffo rise in Jays' ranks

Pitching prospect Maverik Buffo’s strong work ethic and bulldog mentality has helped him find success in the Toronto Blue Jays’ system. Photo: Joshua Howe

By Joshua Howe

DUNEDIN, Fla. — Adversity has never slowed Maverik Buffo’s drive.

The right-handed pitcher has fought his way through a serious elbow injury that probably dropped his draft status dramatically.

He was the 1,029th pick (34th round) of the June 2017 Major League amateur draft.

But in two years with the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays, Lansing Lugnuts and Dunedin Blue Jays he was a combined 17-8 with a 4.15 earned-run average.

“I want to be known as someone who’s a good teammate,” Buffo, 23, said Thursday at the minor league complex. “‘He comes in, he’s going to work hard.’”

That means every fifth day he takes the ball the teammates have the same mindset.

“’Mav’s going to give us everything he’s got today. He’s going to go out there and he’s going to compete, he’s going to give us everything.’ That’s how I want to be known.”

During his sophomore year at Brigham Young University, he strained his ulnar collateral ligament.

Rather than undergo Tommy John surgery, chose Platelet-Rich-Plasma therapy - injections of a concentration of a patient’s own platelets to accelerate the healing of injured tendons, ligaments - and work his way back to form via rehabilitation.

“I took that hardworking mentality to my rehab,” Buffo said, “and in eight weeks I was back on the mound. In six weeks I had already closed the gap after my ultrasound. Even the doctors were amazed.

“I had to find a way to get better every day, and so in my rehab it was like, ‘Let’s work, let’s grind’ and I saw that goal and I had that dream of even getting to the point I’m at now. It pushes you through it. It was a tough time.”

BYU coach Mike Littlewood saw Buffo’s resilience first hand.

“Maverik was a real bulldog for us during his time here at BYU,” Littlewood said, in an email interview. “During his rehab he worked tirelessly to get back to where he was prior to his injury. Maverik’s work ethic during [that time] set a great example for all the guys on the team.”

Littlewood’s hyper-competitiveness helped Buffo maintain his own personal fire.

“It was my junior year and we lost to Utah,” Buffo recalled. “We had Pizza Factory there for us after the game and he came in and he punched the salad bowl, flipped the table. I mean, we knew it was coming. We don’t lose to Utah!”

That fired them up.

“I think we went on an eight-game win streak or something after that. He lit that fire for sure.

“This is how I look at my job: How can I find a way to beat the next guy? How can I get noticed a little bit more?

“That’s my mentality every day.”