Henry Owens (left-handed pitcher)
| Henry Owens | |
|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox – No. 60 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: July 21, 1992 Orange, California | |
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 4, 2015, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| MLB statistics (through 2015 season) | |
| Win–loss record | 4-4 |
| Earned run average | 4.57 |
| Innings Pitched | 63.0 |
| Strikeouts | 50 |
| Teams | |
| |
Henry C. Owens (born July 21, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Career
Owens attended Edison High School in Huntington Beach, California. He earned the Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Baseball State Player of the Year Award in 2011, after posting a 12–1 record with a 1.15 earned run average (ERA) and three saves, while striking out 140 batters in 91⅔ innings of work. He also was named a 2011 Louisville Slugger High School All-American and earned 2011 Sunset League Pitcher of the Year honors for the second consecutive year.[1]
The Boston Red Sox selected Owens in the first round (36th overall) of the 2011 MLB Draft.[1] Owens made his professional debut in 2012 with the Greenville Drive of the Class A South Atlantic League (SAL), sporting a 12–5 record and a 4.87 ERA in 23 games, including 130 strikeouts and 47 walks in 101⅔ innings. In addition, he finished fourth in the SAL for the most strikeouts, while tying for fourth in wins.[1]
Entering 2013, Owens was ranked as the eighth best prospect in the Red Sox organization and ranked 77th in the MLB.com Top 100 Prospects list. He features a 91–93 miles per hour (146–150 km/h) fastball and a 77–80 miles per hour (124–129 km/h) changeup which combines with his low-70s curveball.[2] In 2013 Owens was promoted to the Salem Red Sox of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League. On July 17, he struck out a season-high tying 10 in six innings, while combining with Matty Ott (two) and Matt Price (one) to deliver the first no-hitter in franchise history in a 6–0 win over the Frederick Keys.[3] Overall, he posted an 8–5 record and a 2.92 ERA over 20 starts for Salem, including a hitless streak of 19⅓ innings, gaining a promotion to the Portland Sea Dogs of the Class AA Eastern League on July 31.
Upon promotion to Portland, Owens went 3–1 with a 1.78 ERA, striking out 46 in just 30⅓ innings over six starts. He was a Carolina League All-Star, as well as SoxProspects.com's 2013 Pitcher of the Year. Additionally, he made the Baseball America Minor League All-Star Team.[4] Owens started the 2014 season by pitching a rain-shortened six-inning no-hitter.[5] Making 20 starts in Portland, Owens compiled a record of 14–4 with 3 complete games. He pitched 121 innings, struck out 126 batters with an earned run average of 2.60. He was promoted to the Pawtucket Red Sox of the Class AAA International League on August 2, 2014.[6]
Owens began the 2015 season with Pawtucket. The Red Sox promoted Owens to the major leagues to make his debut on August 4.[7]
He collected his first MLB win in his second start on August 9 against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, allowing one run through 5 innings.[8] His performance in the 2015 season with Boston has been widely scrutinized, since he is a candidate to make the 2016 starting rotation.[9]
References
- ^ a b c "MiLB.com – Henry Owens profile".
- ^ "MLB.com – 2013 Top 100 Prospects list".
- ^ Raymond, Jonathan (July 17, 2013). "Owens leads Salem to no-hitter". Milb.com. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
- ^ "Sox-Prospects.com – Henry Owens page".
- ^ Pouliot, Matthew (April 3, 2014). "Red Sox prospect Henry Owens tosses six-inning no-hitter – HardballTalk". nbcsports.com. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
- ^ McDonald, Joe (August 1, 2014). "Owens promoted to Triple-A". ESPN. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
- ^ McCaffrey, Jen (August 1, 2015). "Boston Red Sox rotation not set yet for road trip; Henry Owens, Brian Johnson to get a look". masslive.com. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
- ^ Cox, Zack (August 9, 2015). "Red Sox Notes: Henry Owens Earns First Win For Sox; Koji Uehara Sent Home". NESN. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
- ^ Boston Herald