Henry Owens: What to expect from the Red Sox’ latest Triple-A arm
With Rick Porcello on the disabled list, Henry Owens – the last of the Red Sox’ much-heralded Triple-A arms – will make his debut tomorrow at Yankee Stadium.
His predecessors to the big league club this season have been the definition of mixed bag: Eduardo Rodriguez has been a bright spot in spite of his giving up six or more earned runs in three of his twelve starts so far, but Brian Johnson, promoted for a spot start last month, was chased from his major league debut after allowing four Astros runs on three hits and four walks in just 4 1/3 innings.
Given his makeup and recent history, Owens should fall somewhere between the two over however much action he sees with Porcello sidelined, with potential to be much more Rodriguez than Johnson.
The Red Sox selected Owens with the 36th overall pick in the 2011 draft. He looked overmatched, as 19-year-olds are wont to be, in his first season of Single-A ball in 2012. But by his second season in the minors, Owens was making the competition look silly: he struck out 11.27 batters per nine over 135 innings of 2.67 ERA ball between High-A and Double-A in 2013, sterling numbers even when you consider they came with a 4.53 BB/9. He traded a bit of his raw stuff (9.75 K/9) for better control (3.50 BB/9) in his follow-up the next year. Sure, he had a 4.03 ERA over 38 Triple-A innings following a late-season promotion, but he otherwise looked every bit the part of the sky’s-the-limit starter that saw him taken so early.
Owens began the 2015 season in Pawtucket as the team’s top pitching prospect for the second straight year, seemingly poised to be the first of the team’s young arms to break into the bigs. But for the first time since he was a teenager, he struggled, walking as many batters (25) as he struck out over his first six starts. Some of this slide can be attributed to his developing his curve and implementing a slider, but not all. Fortunately, Owens has since reversed course, posting a 2.86 ERA in 15 starts since. And he’s been especially deadly of late, with a 2.84 ERA, a 9.66 K/9 and a 2.27 BB/9 since the calendar turned to July. Pitching as well as he ever has after more than 160 innings of Triple-A work, Owens has nothing left to prove in the minors.
Makeup-wise, Owens’ defining trait is his size: at 6’6’’, the lefty’s towering height gives him an atypical release point that flummoxes hitters, though his length can make him prone to mechanical inconsistencies. He’ll always be lanky, but the 45 pounds he’s put on since he tipped the scales at a scant 175 pounds on draft day four years ago will go along way for his durability.
Owens throws a sinking fastball that sits in the low 90s but can be dialed up to 95 and grades out as rougly average. His changeup, on the other hand, is superb: He throws it with the same arm speed as his fastball and with good motion and command, making for a potential plus-plus pitch at his peak. He made his curveball a focus per the soxprospects.com article linked above and his slider, which he hadn’t thrown since high school, has been a strong addition to his arsenal in 2015.
With potentially four major league-caliber pitches that range from average to excellent, Owens has developed the repertoire to match his lofty draft spot. The Bronx is not Pawtucket, but Owens has more than earned his shot, and could be an important piece for years to come.
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