Pawtucket Red Sox: Who is hot and not
By Rick McNair
Mar 19, 2015; Dunedin, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Henry Owens (76) warms up before the first inning of the spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports
Henry Owens – NOT!
Owens, a 22-year-old left-hander, simply walks far too many batters. This curse of the free pass has been consistent all season with 43 walks and 58 strikeouts in 70.1 innings. When Owens demonstrates reasonable control he is just plain dominant allowing only 48 hits. Sunday was an example of “Good Owens” with six innings of four hit ball and one run. Only one walk in the outing.
This last phase of development at Triple-A is a mystery regarding the fact that for some reason Owens feels tossing a strike will actually make him contact Ebola. Last season at Portland, Owens BB/9 was 3.50 and in a brief run at Pawtucket it was 2.84. Now it is 5.52 and often Owens is pitching behind in the count.
Owens has not regressed, but is simply stagnant. No improvement and not real crash and burn – yet. Keep pitching from behind and even Triple-A hitters will prosper.
Sources: Sox Prospects. baseball-reference. MLB Prospect Watch. Pawtucket Red Sox. Statistics through 6/14.