DUNEDIN, Fla. – The chorus is pretty much perfect for an undersized and often doubted prospect who arrives at spring training and takes camp by storm. Really, J. Cole’s Blow Up could be an anthem for Devon Travis, even if he didn’t choose it as his walk-up music. “This a song for my haters/You got me feeling like the greatest,” the speakers blare each time he steps to the plate at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, “Yeah … I’m about to blow up.”

Without doubt the 24-year-old second baseman has shown that over the past month, impressing enough that Tuesday he’s expected to be named to the Toronto Blue Jays’ season-opening 25-man roster.

The plan had been for Travis, acquired from the Detroit Tigers in November for Anthony Gose, to open the season at triple-A Buffalo and work his way up. But with .849 OPS in 22 games and some solid defensive play, he’s forced his way on to the team.

Waiting for confirmation, however, is agonizing.

“It’s an opportunity to make your dream come true, to step on a big-league field during a game in the regular season, that’s what I’ve dreamed about since I first learned about baseball. It weighs on you a little bit, I’d be lying if I said I don’t think about it,” Travis says.

“However, I tell myself whenever I think about, ‘Don’t think about it. Let it go.’ You literally have no control on the situation, you do all you can do on the field, at the end of the day the front office and the coaches are going to make the decision.

“But at night sometimes, it’s a little tough to sleep, definitely anxious, excited, regardless of where I end up, whether I have an opportunity to break with the team or go to triple-A. Whatever, I just love the game. My goal is to one day play in the big leagues, whenever that happens, I’m just really excited about that.”

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I spoke to Travis about his spring, his background and what his choice of walk-up music will be – “Probably something Drake,” he says – and a whole lot more below:

Sportsnet: Clearly you’ve made a strong impression this spring. How do you feel about your camp?

Devon Travis: When I first got here I was a little uncomfortable, don’t know anybody, players, coaches, staff, calling people the wrong name. Everybody was great, literally from Day 1 they treated me great, I was asking everyone questions, everybody was coming up to me, giving me input. It was a really great learning experience for sure.

SN: Early on you went hitless in your first 11 at-bats before turning it on. Given that this is a new team for you and there was a job up for grabs, how did you handle the slow start at the plate?

DT: The biggest thing was wanting to make a good impression on your new teammates, new coaches, that part was tough for me. Gibby and everyone told me, ‘Hey, just relax, don’t go out there trying to worry about your batting average, trying to get hits and doing things you don’t normally do. Just play the game, have fun, do what you’ve always done and let the game take care of itself.’

I went out there and did exactly the opposite, went out there trying to get hits, trying to hit everything and it’s always toughest to get that first one. Once I got that first hit I said, ‘Phff, you know what? This wasn’t working before, so until you relax and just start playing the game it’s going to keep rolling like this.”

SN: You’ve been through slumps before, too. What did you draw from those experiences?

DT: Last year during the regular season I started 6-for-50 and that was tough mentally. It’s tough when you’re down to bring that energy and play relaxed. You play best when you’re relaxed and letting the game come to you.

Last year helped me a ton with that in the sense of you can’t afford to get behind 50 at-bats now, you have to throw it out, take it day by day, if you sucked today, come to the field tomorrow and bring the energy and play to help your team win. Quit worrying about you. When you get caught up in how you’re doing rather than just winning, you can really find yourself in a big hole.

SN: After that initial 0-for-11, you ran off a 16-for-29 stretch. Describe the swing in your mindset during that time.

DT: I just started having fun. I play the game with a lot of energy, I like to have a good time, I like to crack jokes and I really found myself not having fun. I was so caught up in trying to be successful rather than playing the game. That mindset alone is probably the most important part of baseball, to be honest, playing the game the right way.

SN: Manager John Gibbons has mentioned a few times that your defence has been very good, especially because that area’s been a knock on you. Are you improved in the field?

DT: I don’t know where that [criticism] came from, I’d never really heard that before. At the same time, that’s good. For me personally, that kind of stuff drives me. Shucks, that could be right, it doesn’t matter how good a defender you are, you’ve always got to try to become better. For me, to feel that, ‘Hey, we don’t know about your defence,’ was kind of like, ‘Really? I better get to work and try to change minds on that.’ Any type of fire I can get lit behind me is always helpful.”

SN: Is criticism and doubt an important motivator for you? Where does your drive come from?

DT: First off, it’s got to start from within before you start worrying about what other people are saying. Stroman is the best example anyone can give for a positive guy. Always, always has a smile on his face, always pumped up. It’s 7:30 in the morning, [Marcus] Stroman comes in and we’re all, ‘Hey man, how you so turned up this early in the morning?’ That mindset, it really trickles around the room and those positive guys you look up to, whether they’re younger, older.

It’s great to have, and I try to tell myself every day when I wake up, ‘No matter how you do today, no matter how everything is going, you’ve got to try to be positive.’

SN: When did your competitive streak start?

DT: It definitely started at an early age, not even in sports, but in life. My parents were tough. I couldn’t suck my teeth, I couldn’t roll my eyes, everything was no ma’am, yes ma’am. It started there. The first time I brought a B home, I think I was in ninth grade, I got grounded for a week. They were tough, so for me, being a smaller guy, my dad always told me, ‘You’re not going to be six-foot something, you’ve got to put in that extra work.’ That always drove me a little bit.

SN: What are their names and what do they do?

DT: My dad actually did 30 years at PBSO (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office), he retired a year and a half ago. My mom is a nurse. My dad played college football (defensive back) at Syracuse, my mom didn’t play any sports.

SN: Did you play football growing up?

DT: I tried to but they weren’t having it. My dad always said, ‘You’re not playing this sport, you’re going to get hurt. Play baseball, we’ll let you play basketball.’ I wanted to play hockey, they weren’t having hockey, there were no contact sports involved. Looking back at it now I’m thankful. Knowing me, I definitely would have gotten beaten up a little bit by those big dudes.

SN: Can you skate?

DT: Actually, not to brag, but I was a pretty fast skater. Growing up, at the skating rink, you’d have races with the kids and at least when I was younger, I don’t know if I ever lost a race.

SN: Are there any other experiences you’ve had that can compare to waiting for the Blue Jays to name the roster?

DT: You know what? I don’t think there’s any true comparison. The most exciting time in my life is now. The fact that it’s going to pop up here pretty soon with whatever decision they make, I guess the most similar thing is when you’re eight years old looking forward to Christmas. You can’t sleep at night, waking up, can’t wait to see the presents. It’s five o’clock in the morning, I’m waking up ready to go. So I’d say Christmas is the closest thing to this, but nothing compares.