DENVER  — When Alan Trejo was in high school, he worked as a giveaway boy in the right field concourse at Dodger Stadium. He dreamed of the day he would take the field as a major league player.

On April 13, Trejo walked by the spot he was stationed at less than a decade ago. This time, it was on his way to the visitor clubhouse as a member of the Colorado Rockies.

“It was pretty overwhelming,” he said. “All those emotions I had growing up as a kid, wanting to be a big leaguer on that stage, it came to life.”

Trejo has been on the active roster for less than a month, but has already come off the bench in multiple games to pinch hit in crucial late-inning situations. He is largely considered to be one of the best shortstops in the Rockies organization, behind Trevor Story, the two-time All-Star.

Story will enter free agency at the end of the season, and the Rockies have not engaged in any talks with Story or his agent about his future with the team. If Story’s time with the Rockies comes to an end soon, Trejo has put himself in a position to pick up right where Story left off.

A baseball family

Trejo was on the bus as a member of the Rockies taxi squad for the first road trip of the season when he got a tap on the shoulder. It was third base coach Stu Cole, telling him he needed to come to manager Bud Black’s office immediately.

Trejo started to panic. Then he got the news he’d been working his entire life to hear: he was being promoted to the major leagues. He called his parents, and after three tries they finally picked up. Then, they cried on the line together.

His parents, Ray and Elsa Trejo, weren’t able to make it to his debut in San Francisco. But they were there two days later at Dodgers Stadium, along with a herd of aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

“Anyone you can think of was there,” Trejo said.

They got to see his first hit, as well as his first start a few days later.

The Trejos were originally a basketball family. Ray Trejo was a high school basketball coach in Los Angeles, and Trejo grew up playing basketball and baseball.

It soon became too much. They were traveling across the city from Anaheim Sports Complex for one sport to Cyprus for the other, and playing both was getting expensive.

Baseball was Trejo’s first love, and he realized around the time he was 11 that he needed to focus solely on that if he was going to make his dreams come true. So Ray Trejo stepped down from his basketball coaching job, and took over as his son’s youth baseball coach.

“We became a baseball family, it just kind of happened like that,” Trejo said. “He decided to spend all his down time to help me get better and enjoy sports at a young age.”

Trejo went on to play at San Diego State, the same school as manager Bud Black, and was drafted by the Rockies in the 16th round of the 2017 draft.

A workhorse

Hours before the Rockies doubleheader against the Giants on Tuesday, Trejo was one of two players on the field getting extra work in. The other was Story.

Trejo has admired Story since 2016, when he watched Story’s debut with the Rockies on opening day at a bar near San Diego State’s campus.

Trejo met his idol for the first time at a Lululemon in Scottsdale, Arizona, before Trejo’s first spring training. It wasn’t long before the two were training partners.

They often turn their infield work into competitions during spring training. Sometimes, it’s whoever makes an error loses that day. Other days, it’s whoever gets the most ground balls. Story said Trejo oftentimes gets the best of him, and that their record is pretty close to 50-50.

“I love that kid,” Story said. “He’s a special kid. He’s pushed me in a lot of ways he doesn’t even know. He’s helping me be a better baseball player.”

Trejo’s stock began to rise a year ago. With the season on pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he got to work.

By the time the clock struck 4 a.m., Trejo was already at Deuce Athletics in Hermosa Beach, California. He worked out with a core group of elite athletes, who did explosive work, heavy lifting and sprints on the nearby beach together.

Afterward, he teamed up with Angels infielder David Fletcher. They jumped around from high school to high school, wherever they could find an empty field.

When training started up again for the Rockies in July, Black noticed an immediate difference. Trejo was stronger, and the ball was coming off the bat with more authority.

“I thought he made great strides,” Black said. “He was in a really great spot athletically and physically.”

The next steps

Next up for Trejo is finding a way to stay in the big leagues. His defense is above average, and he’s made stunning plays that mirror Story’s signature snatches. But he knows his hitting still needs some work.

He’s in the batting cage by 1:45 for a 6:40 p.m. home game, and he’s typically the first player there. Trejo is focused on trying to make consistent contact with the barrel and not striking out, something he can’t stand doing.

“Everyone talks about how I need to improve offensively, but I feel pretty good right now,” he said. “I’m just trying to help the team win and do whatever I can in the box to help my team.”

On Tuesday, those improvements were on display. With the Rockies down 6-2 in the bottom of the seventh and final inning of the doubleheader against the Giants, Trejo was called to pinch-hit. He hit a single, and started a hitting spree that led to the Rockies scoring six runs to take the game.

Trejo has four hits in 17 at-bats so far, and he has started five games at shortstop and two at second. He knows there’s a time, maybe soon, where his mentor won’t be mere feet away from him anymore. Most of all, Trejo said he will always admire Story’s poise and work ethic, both things he tries to emulate.

“He goes about his day so well,” Trejo said. “Whether he strikes out, whether he hits a home run. His emotional stability is so great, I really admire that. That’s something I’m trying to take from him.”