TUCSON, Ariz. -- The handshake is almost painfully firm. But Rockies top prospect and shining light Dexter Fowler would never hurt anyone. It's just hard to know your own strength when it seems to be increasing by the day.

Fowler, a switch-hitting center fielder, dominated in Double-A Tulsa, was chosen to Team USA for the Futures Game and the Olympics and made his Rockies debut last September. Fowler accomplished it all with a skinny body that seemed lost in his uniform. The Olympic silver medal didn't exactly strain his neck, but at 6-foot-4 and 176 pounds, he could feel the weight.

Now, Fowler is a muscular 193. He's gone from the stick-like No. 14 to a beefier No. 24 jersey that he'll fill out just fine.

"I think I might have grown an inch," Fowler said.

Even before the offseason work, Fowler was growing leaps and bounds as a center fielder and as a professional. Last season, he hit .335, compiled a .431 on-base percentage, had 31 doubles, nine triples and nine home runs and went 20-for-28 on steal attempts at Tulsa.

The trip to the Majors was more a study session than a test. He hit .154 in 13 well-spaced at-bats.

But no matter how much Fowler has grown and learned over the past year, the question is when he'll grow into a Major Leaguer. Predictably, and refreshingly, Fowler hopes to convince the Rockies that there's no time like now.

"I feel I can play at this level," Fowler said. "It's just a matter of going out there and doing so."

Still, that's a tall order for someone who hasn't played a day in Triple-A. But he's looking like a player who might not have to spend many days in Colorado Springs.

Fowler, who turns 23 on March 22, was a 14th-round pick in 2004 out of Milton High School in Alpharetta, Ga. He should have gone toward the top of the First-Year Player Draft, but the fact that he was receiving basketball scholarship offers and would require a large bonus scared many teams. The Rockies, having freed cash by trading former star Larry Walker, paid him $925,000.

The only blip in Fowler's development came in 2007, when a wrist injury limited him to 65 games at Class A Modesto (.273, two homers, 23 RBIs). Last year was a breakout for Fowler, who didn't learn to switch-hit until entering professional ball.

But for Fowler to make the team, he'd have to supplant Ryan Spilborghs, who has been a contributing player the last two seasons and is being looked at as a leadoff hitter, for a starting job. Also ahead of him is left-handed-hitting Carlos Gonzalez, who is in Fowler's class as a prospect and had more significant big league experienced with the Athletics last season than Fowler had with the Rox.

"I think you still look and say there are some things he needs to tighten up in his game before he can perform and help a team win at the Major League level," said Rockies assistant general manager Bill Geivett, one of the key decision-makers when it comes to advancing players through the system and into the Majors. "That's really the issue. A guy with that type of talent, he can play at the Major League level.

"But he's got to show in this camp that he can help a team win. He's got some guys ahead of him that have experience."

Rockies manager Clint Hurdle didn't see enough of Fowler last year to make an evaluation. But he has listened to those who believe Fowler can perform amazing feats, but is still learning the game. Hurdle has had those talks within the organization and with Davey Johnson, who managed when Hurdle played for the Mets and managed Fowler with Team USA.

"The thing I've commented on throughout the winter is I just want to give him the opportunity to continue to grow and get some more strength through getting older and playing the game," Hurdle said. "Defensively, everybody I talk to raves. Davey Johnson will talk to you all day long about the way he played defense for his team. But offensively, he won't talk all day long. That's where we are.

"With his makeup and intelligence for the game, I think he's in a good place. There are plenty of opportunities for him to learn." "

Fowler joined Rockies pitcher Greg Reynolds and infield-outfield prospect Eric Young Jr. at the Creative Artists Agency training center in Bradenton, Fla., during the winter. He also worked out in Georgia with a pair of noted hitting instructors -- C.J. Stewart, a former player in the Cubs' system, and former Major League slugger Cecil Fielder.

Fowler said Stewart is in contact with Colorado roving hitting instructor Jim Johnson, so the Rockies are aware of all he is doing. Stewart laid the foundation for his switch-hitting a few years ago. Fielder is helping Fowler develop power in his forearms with drills as basic as hitting off a tee and swinging a weighted bat with one hand.

Fowler realizes he has much to learn. That why he spent most of his time in the Majors last year soaking up advice from teammates such as Matt Holliday, Brad Hawpe, Todd Helton, Spilborghs and, well, pretty much anyone who would speak to him.

"I try to be humble, try to be myself, listen to everybody," Fowler said. "My mom always told me God gave you two ears and one mouth. So listen twice as much as you speak."

It's clear Fowler was gifted with more than eyes and a mouth.