To cap off the end of the 2009 season, I'm going to be counting down my list of the top 50 prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates' system. I'll be counting down one prospect per day, with an extensive recap on each player, until I reach number one. Check out the previous installments:
46-50
41-45
36-40
31-35
30 - Brian Friday
29 - Aaron Pribanic
28 - Evan Chambers
27 - Brock Holt
26 - Brooks Pounders
25 - Trent Stevenson
24 - Justin Wilson
23 - Daniel Moskos
22 - Donald Veal
21 - Daniel McCutchen
20 - Ronald Uviedo
19 - Jarek Cunningham
18 - Victor Black
17 - Colton Cain
16 - Jordy Mercer
15 - Brett Lorin
14 - Quinton Miller
13 - Bryan Morris
12 - Robbie Grossman
11 - Jeff Locke
10 - Zach Von Rosenberg
9 - Chase d'Arnaud
Now on to prospect number 8:
8. Rudy Owens, LHP
2009 Season: At the start of the 2009 season, Rudy Owens was completely off the Pirates' radar. That quickly changed, as Owens got off to a hot start in West Virginia, with a 2.29 ERA in his first four starts in the month of April, posting a 13:5 K/BB ratio in that stretch over 19.1 innings pitched. Owens continued that strong start in the month of May, making six starts with a 2.79 ERA and a 31:6 K/BB ratio in 29 innings pitched.
The final start of the month, on May 30th, began a process that put Owens on the radar of Pirates fans. Owens didn't allow a walk in seven innings that start. The next walk he would allow would be July 5th, over a month later, a stretch spanning 42 innings without a walk. During this stretch, Owens also went 32.2 innings without allowing an earned run, with five straight starts of shutout baseball spanning 31 innings in that mix.
Owens was promoted to Lynchburg at the end of July, after putting up a 1.70 ERA, a 0.85 WHIP, an 8.1 K/9, a 6.1 KBB and a 0.7 HR/9 ratio in 100.2 innings pitched in the South Atlantic League. Owens put up a 0.39 ERA and a 0.63 WHIP in his last eight starts in West Virginia over 46 innings, with a 43:4 K/BB ratio. These performances were enough for Owens to be rated the number eleven prospect in the South Atlantic League in 2009 by Baseball America, as well as the 2009 SAL Most Outstanding Pitcher Award.
Owens started to struggle a bit in Lynchburg, which might have been due to the higher level, but more likely was due to an irregular schedule due to his innings being limited, and the fact that he had almost doubled his 2008 innings total by the time he arrived in Lynchburg. Still, the numbers looked good, with Owens putting up a 3.86 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP in 23.1 innings pitched over six starts. Owens had a very impressive 22:2 K/BB ratio in that stretch.
In the playoffs, Owens pitched two gems to help lead Lynchburg to the 2009 Carolina League Championship. The first game was a six inning, no run, four hit outing in which Owens struck out six and walked one. The second game was in the championship series, and saw Owens go 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits, with a walk and seven strikeouts. Both performances can be found in the Video Recaps section of the site.
Owens finished the season with a 2.10 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP in 124 innings between low-A and high-A. He had an 8.2 K/9 ratio and an extremely impressive 6.6 K/BB ratio, with a solid 0.8 HR/9 ratio to wrap it all up. The overall numbers were enough for Owens to be named the 2009 Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Check out Rudy Owens' 2009 stats and game logs.
See three of Rudy Owens' starts in Lynchburg, including his two playoff gems, in the video recaps section of the site.
My interview with Rudy Owens near the end of the 2009 season.
Information: The Pirates drafted Owens in the 28th round of the 2006 draft, the last draft and follow year. Owens signed with the Pirates the following May for $390 K. He made his debut with the GCL Pirates in 2007, pitching 22 innings with a 5.32 ERA and a 17:8 K/BB ratio. The following season Owens spent the year in State College, posting a 4.97 ERA, with a 45:13 K/BB ratio.
The 2008 State College Spikes were infamous for having dreadful pitching numbers. This was mostly due to the fact that the Pirates had the team focusing on throwing fastballs the majority of the time, and the opposing teams knew what was coming. The downside to this came in the form of horrible ERAs for the members of the 2008 team. Owens, who had a 4.97 ERA, actually led the team. The upside to the strategy could have been the improved fastball command by guys like Owens.
Without the 2008 State College strategy, Owens might not have had the success we saw in 2009. He always had good control numbers, with a 62:21 K/BB ratio in his first 80 innings as a pro. He improved on those numbers in 2009, with a 113:17 K/BB ratio in 124 innings pitched.
Owens is 6' 3", 215 pounds, but throws his fastball in the 88-91 MPH range. He doesn't project to have an increase in velocity in the future, although his fastball control is enough to make him such a valued prospect. Owens can locate his fastball wherever he wants, and complements that with his curveball and changeup.
The curveball is something Owens has worked on in the last year. Owens wasn't effective in 2008 with his slider, and the Pirates had him switch to a curveball in 2009, which acts like a slurve. Owens feels good about the pitch, using it as a strikeout pitch to complement his excellent fastball control. Owens had a .214 BAA versus right handers in 2009, which shows that his changeup was also very effective.
Owens has the potential to be a very special pitcher. He has exceptional control over his fastball, and he has two great pitches to complement the fastball. He works fast, and throws strikes consistently. He will be adding a two seam fastball to the mix next season, which should give him another solid weapon for his arsenal. A left handed starter with exceptional control, and three strong pitches is rare to have, and it would only be better if he learns success with the two seam fastball.
2010 Expectations: Owens could start the 2010 season in AA, considering the success he saw in his short time in high-A ball, most notably the low walk rates. He could end up in AAA by the end of the season, on pace to be in the majors by the middle of 2011.
Optimistic Projection: Owens arguably put up the best numbers of all Pirates' pitchers in the 2009 season, and while it's only A-ball, it gives hope for the future, especially with the low walk rates. Because of his control, his feel for his secondary pitches, and the fast pace he works at, I think the numbers are legit, and could easily transfer to higher levels. Owens doesn't have a lot of velocity to overpower hitters, but he does have the potential to be a special finesse pitcher, kind of like Tom Glavine.
Conservative Projection: The Tom Glavine scenario would be the obvious best case for Owens. I think it's very likely that he ends up in the major league rotation by June 2011, at which point a conservative projection would make him the next Zach Duke (and when I say that I mean the 2009 version of Duke).
Check back tomorrow for prospect number 7...
46-50
41-45
36-40
31-35
30 - Brian Friday
29 - Aaron Pribanic
28 - Evan Chambers
27 - Brock Holt
26 - Brooks Pounders
25 - Trent Stevenson
24 - Justin Wilson
23 - Daniel Moskos
22 - Donald Veal
21 - Daniel McCutchen
20 - Ronald Uviedo
19 - Jarek Cunningham
18 - Victor Black
17 - Colton Cain
16 - Jordy Mercer
15 - Brett Lorin
14 - Quinton Miller
13 - Bryan Morris
12 - Robbie Grossman
11 - Jeff Locke
10 - Zach Von Rosenberg
9 - Chase d'Arnaud
Now on to prospect number 8:
8. Rudy Owens, LHP
2009 Season: At the start of the 2009 season, Rudy Owens was completely off the Pirates' radar. That quickly changed, as Owens got off to a hot start in West Virginia, with a 2.29 ERA in his first four starts in the month of April, posting a 13:5 K/BB ratio in that stretch over 19.1 innings pitched. Owens continued that strong start in the month of May, making six starts with a 2.79 ERA and a 31:6 K/BB ratio in 29 innings pitched.
The final start of the month, on May 30th, began a process that put Owens on the radar of Pirates fans. Owens didn't allow a walk in seven innings that start. The next walk he would allow would be July 5th, over a month later, a stretch spanning 42 innings without a walk. During this stretch, Owens also went 32.2 innings without allowing an earned run, with five straight starts of shutout baseball spanning 31 innings in that mix.
Owens was promoted to Lynchburg at the end of July, after putting up a 1.70 ERA, a 0.85 WHIP, an 8.1 K/9, a 6.1 KBB and a 0.7 HR/9 ratio in 100.2 innings pitched in the South Atlantic League. Owens put up a 0.39 ERA and a 0.63 WHIP in his last eight starts in West Virginia over 46 innings, with a 43:4 K/BB ratio. These performances were enough for Owens to be rated the number eleven prospect in the South Atlantic League in 2009 by Baseball America, as well as the 2009 SAL Most Outstanding Pitcher Award.
Owens started to struggle a bit in Lynchburg, which might have been due to the higher level, but more likely was due to an irregular schedule due to his innings being limited, and the fact that he had almost doubled his 2008 innings total by the time he arrived in Lynchburg. Still, the numbers looked good, with Owens putting up a 3.86 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP in 23.1 innings pitched over six starts. Owens had a very impressive 22:2 K/BB ratio in that stretch.
In the playoffs, Owens pitched two gems to help lead Lynchburg to the 2009 Carolina League Championship. The first game was a six inning, no run, four hit outing in which Owens struck out six and walked one. The second game was in the championship series, and saw Owens go 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits, with a walk and seven strikeouts. Both performances can be found in the Video Recaps section of the site.
Owens finished the season with a 2.10 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP in 124 innings between low-A and high-A. He had an 8.2 K/9 ratio and an extremely impressive 6.6 K/BB ratio, with a solid 0.8 HR/9 ratio to wrap it all up. The overall numbers were enough for Owens to be named the 2009 Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Check out Rudy Owens' 2009 stats and game logs.
See three of Rudy Owens' starts in Lynchburg, including his two playoff gems, in the video recaps section of the site.
My interview with Rudy Owens near the end of the 2009 season.
Information: The Pirates drafted Owens in the 28th round of the 2006 draft, the last draft and follow year. Owens signed with the Pirates the following May for $390 K. He made his debut with the GCL Pirates in 2007, pitching 22 innings with a 5.32 ERA and a 17:8 K/BB ratio. The following season Owens spent the year in State College, posting a 4.97 ERA, with a 45:13 K/BB ratio.
The 2008 State College Spikes were infamous for having dreadful pitching numbers. This was mostly due to the fact that the Pirates had the team focusing on throwing fastballs the majority of the time, and the opposing teams knew what was coming. The downside to this came in the form of horrible ERAs for the members of the 2008 team. Owens, who had a 4.97 ERA, actually led the team. The upside to the strategy could have been the improved fastball command by guys like Owens.
Without the 2008 State College strategy, Owens might not have had the success we saw in 2009. He always had good control numbers, with a 62:21 K/BB ratio in his first 80 innings as a pro. He improved on those numbers in 2009, with a 113:17 K/BB ratio in 124 innings pitched.
Owens is 6' 3", 215 pounds, but throws his fastball in the 88-91 MPH range. He doesn't project to have an increase in velocity in the future, although his fastball control is enough to make him such a valued prospect. Owens can locate his fastball wherever he wants, and complements that with his curveball and changeup.
The curveball is something Owens has worked on in the last year. Owens wasn't effective in 2008 with his slider, and the Pirates had him switch to a curveball in 2009, which acts like a slurve. Owens feels good about the pitch, using it as a strikeout pitch to complement his excellent fastball control. Owens had a .214 BAA versus right handers in 2009, which shows that his changeup was also very effective.
Owens has the potential to be a very special pitcher. He has exceptional control over his fastball, and he has two great pitches to complement the fastball. He works fast, and throws strikes consistently. He will be adding a two seam fastball to the mix next season, which should give him another solid weapon for his arsenal. A left handed starter with exceptional control, and three strong pitches is rare to have, and it would only be better if he learns success with the two seam fastball.
2010 Expectations: Owens could start the 2010 season in AA, considering the success he saw in his short time in high-A ball, most notably the low walk rates. He could end up in AAA by the end of the season, on pace to be in the majors by the middle of 2011.
Optimistic Projection: Owens arguably put up the best numbers of all Pirates' pitchers in the 2009 season, and while it's only A-ball, it gives hope for the future, especially with the low walk rates. Because of his control, his feel for his secondary pitches, and the fast pace he works at, I think the numbers are legit, and could easily transfer to higher levels. Owens doesn't have a lot of velocity to overpower hitters, but he does have the potential to be a special finesse pitcher, kind of like Tom Glavine.
Conservative Projection: The Tom Glavine scenario would be the obvious best case for Owens. I think it's very likely that he ends up in the major league rotation by June 2011, at which point a conservative projection would make him the next Zach Duke (and when I say that I mean the 2009 version of Duke).
Check back tomorrow for prospect number 7...
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