DUNEDIN, Fla. – Outfielder Darrell Ceciliani has been a big success down on the farm and down on the ranch.

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DUNEDIN, Fla. – Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion was back on the Florida Auto Exchange Stadium field on Thursday morning stretching and loosening up, just a couple of days after suffering a minor oblique issue.

Manager John Gibbons said on Tuesday the Encarnacion would be shut down for at least one week because of the problem, so Thursday’s sighting was good news.

“Progress,” said Gibbons. “The fact that he’s out there is a pretty good sign. They don’t think it’s a big deal anyway, but he feels better so that’s the report they give me every day. I don’t think it will be too much longer.”

Encarnacion already has missed more than two weeks of spring training recovering from an abscessed tooth that was pulled Feb. 28 but is not expected to miss the opening of the regular season on April 3. He batted .277 with 39 homers and 111 RBIs last season.

Left-handed pitcher Aaron Loup, who suffered an elbow strain two weeks ago, threw lightly in the outfield on Thursday, though there’s no word as to when he might throw off a mound or get in a game.

“He’s playing catch and we’ll see where he’s at. He should be fine,” said Gibbons.

Steve Buffery

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As a 2009 New York Mets draft pick, Ceciliani has put together some excellent seasons in the Mets’ farm system, culminating with a call-up to the Major Leagues for 39 games last year before being traded to the Blue Jays on Feb. 2. His performance so far at spring training has been so impressive, Toronto manager John Gibbons says there’s a chance he’ll be named the club’s fourth outfielder when the regular season starts on April 3.

“Love him,” said Gibbons. “I heard he’s hard-nosed, good base runner, good outfielder, just a complete player. He’s just looking for his opportunity.”

Ceciliani, 25, may have found that with the Jays. Heading into Thursday’s spring training games, the California-born, Oregon-raised outfielder leads all Toronto batters with a .444 average in 10 games. He has eight hits in 18 at-bats, including a grand slam against the Minnesota Twins last week.

Gibbons said Ceciliani was recommended to the Jays by the club’s former GM J.P. Ricciardi, now the a special assistant to Mets GM Sandy Alderson.

“J.P. spoke very highly of him and that’s good enough for me,” said Gibbons.

There’s nothing particularly unique about a hard-nosed, good-hitting outfielder. But what makes Ceciliani stand out is the fact he grew up on a 17,000-acre ranch in the Oregon back country, operated by his dad Darrell Ceciliani II and his brother Derek, and still lives and works there in the off-season. The ranch, called Rocker Three Ranch, is located about 10 miles from the closest town, Madras, where Ceciliani excelled at baseball, basketball and football at Madras High School.

“Football was my favourite,” said Ceciliani, who carried 160 pounds on his five-foot-nine frame in high school. “If I could have went and played big time football somewhere, I would have. But obviously with the size and everything it was kind of out of the question. But that’s how I try to carry my mentality in baseball. It’s a football mentality. Just go out and grind.”

Ceciliani was certainly a long-shot to make it as a pro in baseball. While highly skilled, he wasn’t able to travel with the local rep team very much because of work commitments on the ranch. Despite that, he turned enough heads to be drafted in the fourth round by the Mets. And when his baseball career ends, he said he’ll be back working the ranch.

“We run cattle out there, anywhere from 400-600 head, and it’s a non-stop battle,” Ceciliani said. “We also have a little hunting/fishing business. It’s just awesome, a good place to get away to after the baseball season.”

Ceciliani is also a big-time hunter.

“We go out and hunt deer, elk … predator hunt, coyotes, bobcats,” he said. “It’s a good place to get away and just go to enjoy life, you know, out in the country. With nobody around.”

Ceciliani was born in Tracy, Calif., where his dad ran the family dairy, but moved to Oregon as a small child when they decided to buy a working ranch. Ceciliani describes their little corner of Oregon as a slice of heaven. Very rugged heaven.

“We have horses, cattle and I mean a ton of wild animals — deer, elk, antelope, coyotes, mountain lions, bobcats, all that good stuff,” he said.

Ceciliani said he’s actually seen a couple of the elusive mountain lions around the property. His love for the wild and the family ranch doesn’t mean he doesn’t appreciate big cities. He enjoyed his time with the Mets and would love nothing better to break camp with the Jays and settle in Canada’s largest city for the 2016 season. Given his spring so far, that’s a distinct possibility.

“I’m trying not to look at the numbers here, just how I go about my business and play the game,” he said. “Right now the results at the plate are falling but my main goal is to just to come in here and show these guys what I got. A lot of them haven’t seen me before so I’m trying to leave as good an impression as I can.”

So far, it’s mission accomplished.