Michael Bowden Optioned to Pawtucket

This afternoon, the Red Sox made a minor pitching move, optioning Michael Bowden back to AAA Pawtucket and calling up Scott Atchison. In the scheme of things, the move seems like a fairly insignificant 1-for-1 swap, but Michael Bowden’s career in the organization has been a bit uncertain to this point. He was considered to be a top starting pitching prospect when drafted out of high school in the 1st round in 2005, but has not yet made a significant impact on the major league level. Originally a starter, Bowden was converted to a reliever full time in 2010 by the Red Sox. The team has yet to see the benefits of that move for more than a handful of games at a time. Bowden is still young and still has time to develop, but will he ever be the pitcher the Red Sox were hoping for when they drafted him? Let’s take a look.

At age 24 and with 6 years of professional baseball in his rearview mirror, Bowden should be on the brink of breaking into the big leagues for the foreseeable future. Of course there are a million factors related to that happening, including a roster spot for him and a need for a righty reliever, but Bowden has had his chance to impress in small samples and the situation appeared to be tipping in his favor. Last season, after being converted to a reliever, Bowden pitched in 14 games with the Red Sox, finishing with a 0-1 record and a 4.70 ERA. He allowed 20 hits and 8 earned runs in 15.1 innings and was redeemed by his impressive 3.25 K to BB ratio (13 Ks, 4 BBs).

This year has been a slightly different result in the majors. Bowden had no record with a neat 1.29 ERA in 6 games, pitching in 7 innings and allowing 8 hits. He only struck out 2 batters over that span and had 3 BBs, which is an odd ratio for someone with usually great command, but the ratio could be based on the small sample size. With those types of numbers, why not give the kid more time to prove himself at the highest level? He has been steadily improving and will benefit from time facing big-league hitters, not just continued development in Pawtucket (although I’m not saying minor-league development is not important). Bouncing Bowden back and forth between AAA and the majors is fine to a certain point, but this is the 3rd year where the Red Sox gave him a taste of the big leagues, only to drop him back down like it was nothing (4th if you count his 1 start in the bigs in 2008). Last year his numbers warranted the move back to AAA, this year, they do not. Give the kid a chance to prove himself.

It would be a different story if the Red Sox bullpen was healthy and lights out with no room for another arm. With Bobby Jenks and Rich Hill on the shelf, Dan Wheeler with an awful 6.23 ERA, and Alfredo Aceves and Tim Wakefield being pulled into the rotation as of late, why not give him a shot at consistent major league time? There is value in continued development, but being comfortable with facing an elite hitter late in a 1-run ball game in front of 40,000 fans is invaluable. If the Red Sox want Bowden to be a top-tier reliever in the near future, his time is now and let’s be honest, would anyone rather have Wheeler pitch instead of Bowden?

The moral of the story for me: give him a chance to consistently produce at the highest level. Let him develop in big-game spots and allow him to get comfortable. If the experiment somehow goes terribly wrong, simply send him back to Pawtucket. At age 24, Bowden is ready for the big time, as long as the organization is willing to give him the chance.

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