Get To Know Your A's: Rudy Owens
As the 2015 baseball season approaches in Nashville, the affiliate switch to the Oakland Athletics' organization brings about excitement. With that excitement comes a fresh batch of talented prospects. In the time leading up to the season, we will elaborate on a few of the different players that could be heading to Nashville and expand on the anticipation of another year of Triple-A baseball.
Rudy Owens was a 28th round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007. The left-hander pitched in the minors for years before making his Major League debut on May 24, 2014 with Houston. He signed a minor league contract with Oakland in November.
A former top prospect in the Pittsburgh organization, Owens won the Pirates Minor League Pitcher of the Year award in both 2009 and 2010. He was named a South Atlantic League Mid-Season and Post-Season All-Star in '09, recording a total of 11 wins and striking out 113 batters in the season. He was promoted to Advanced-A in August, helping the Lynchburg Hillcats win the Carolina League title.
The southpaw was just as impressive the following season, earning All-Star selections yet again, this time from the Eastern League in Double-A. He had the best ERA (2.46) among all EL pitchers and his 132 strikeouts were tied for 3rd in the circuit. He again led his club to a playoff berth and contributed to an Eastern League title with the Altoona Curve.
Baseball America proceeded to rank Owens as the No. 7 prospect in the Pittsburgh organization in 2011. The starter was then moved from Pittsburgh to Houston in 2012 as a part of the trade that sent Wandy Rodriguez from the Astros to the Pirates.
After a couple years in the Triple-A ranks, Owens finally got a taste of the Majors. Making the start against Seattle on May 24, the lefty managed 5.2 innings during the loss. He spent the rest of 2014 at Triple-A Oklahoma City, recording 104 strikeouts in his 25 games.
Owens has a proven track record through all level of the minor leagues. He may be best remembered for his 2010 season in Double-A though, sporting a perm while pitching for the Altoona Curve. The look became such a statement that Altoona executed a "Rudy Owens Perm Hat" giveaway in 2011.
The left-hander is looking to build off a strong season and could find himself planted in Nashville's 2015 starting rotation.