[漁塭] Red Sox Farm Friday: Michael Bowden

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http://www.sportsofboston.com/2008/11/21/red-sox-farm-friday-michael-bowden/

Red Sox Farm Friday: Michael Bowden

Do the Red Sox  have a starting pitcher of the future? Well no other pitching
prospect in the system looks as promising as this tall young righty. Michael
Bowden could be a Red Sox middle-of-the-rotation starter for the next decade.
Of course, Bowden is still just a prospect. Many similar prospects have come,
impressed, and then faded into system, never to be heard from again. Then
again, this may be the year Bowden earns his way to a starting job and bursts
onto the scene. He is still just 22, so no one truly knows his potential.

The Michael Bowden Story:
Bowden grew up in Winfield, Illinois where he attended Waubonsie Valley High
School. Like most pre-major leaguers, he dominated his high school competition.
In just 80 innings he struck-out 172 batters at a rate of 19.35 K/9 and had
just a 0.45 ERA. These dominating performances included a perfect game with 17
strikeouts in May 2005. One outing after his perfect game, however, Bowden’s
draft value took a big hit.

Following Bowden’s perfect game he threw up a stinker, leveling out the view
that he was a high level prospect. Prior to his bad game, Baseball America had
him as the 38th best prospect in 2005. Now, according to SoSH wiki, most teams
weren’t aware that before his bad outing Bowden had been paving his driveway
as a Mother’s Day present. The present was exhausting enough to limit his
effectiveness that night and ultimately hurt his draft value with most teams,
except for the Red Sox. They had knowledge of the situation, and kept him high
on their draft board.

In 2005, the Red Sox picked Bowden 47th overall in the supplemental first
round. He appeared briefly in the Golf Coast League Red Sox that year at the
age of 18 where he didn’t allow an earned run in 4 games.

In 2006 for the Greeneville Drive, he posted a 3.51 ERA over 107.2 innings (24
starts) while striking out 118 with a 1.13 WHIP.

The 2007 season was both a coming out year for Bowden’s talent and a test for
a developing young player (still only 20). He started the year out in High-A
Lancaster where he absolutely dominated, although only over 8 starts. He went
2-0 with 1.37 ERA, striking-out 46 and only walking 8 (a 5.75 K/BB). He was
then promoted to Double-AA Portland where he had mixed results. Over 19 starts,
he had an 8-6 record and a 4.28 ERA. He managed to strike out 82 over 96.2
innings while only walking 33 (2.48 K/BB and 7.6 K/9). Keeping in mind he was
one of the youngest pitchers in the league, he competed well while managing his
walks and continuing to strike out batters at a solid rate.

In the 2008 season, Bowden started the year in Double-A. After a stellar 19
starts where he posted a 2.33 ERA, keeping hitters to a .199 average and
striking out nearly one per inning, he was promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket.
Considering he was 21 years old going into AAA, his pitching performance was
very good. Over 40 innings he had a 3.38 ERA but most impressively he struck
out 29 while only walking 5. So, for all of 2008, Bowden piled up a K/BB ratio
of 130/29 (4.48 K/BB). Those numbers are really good at his age, showing he
definitely has the promise of being a consistent major leaguer.

Bowden finished the year with a single spot start against Mark Buehrle and the
White Sox where he earned his first major league win. After his start, the Red
Sox shut him down to get ready for the 2009 off-season.

Scouting Report:
Sox Prospects offers thier perspective:

Bowden is a big righty starter with a top-of-the-rotation ceiling, presently
projecting as a solid third starter at the major league level. He is an
advanced pitcher for his age, but there’s some room for improvement. He has an
arsenal of three pitches that could be big-league caliber: a 90-93 mph
four-seam fastball that tops out around 95 mph, a very good 12-6 hard breaking
curve, and an excellent circle changeup with plus potential. His main pitch -
the four-seamer - has a late, heavy sinking movement, and he generally keeps it
down in the zone. Bowden can also work in a two-seamer that is a few mph off of
his four-seamer, with a bit more movement. His deceptive changeup sits in the
low 80s, about 10 mph off of his fastball, with action moving away from
lefties. His mid-70s curve is pretty sharp and he keeps hitters at bay with it.
However, he can telegraph his curve on occasion. Secondary stuff is really
coming along in 2008. Overall, Bowden has an excellent command of the zone. One
aspect that should come with more experience is improved pitchability against
advanced hitters. His mechanics are somewhat unconventional in that his
delivery is quite compact and he doesn’t pull back with a lot of torque.
Relies more on arm strength than leverage. But he’s able to maintain
consistent arm action throughout his outings, so the Sox haven’t messed with
it. Bowden is said to be a workaholic and just loves to pitch - another player
who just lives and dies for baseball. Very athletic and competitive.

My view on Bowden is he’ll be a major leaguer who has to live and die with his
control. His stuff is good but not enough to be the reason he succeeds.
Ultimately he’ll need a consistent delivery, which he’s been working on,
where he can then focus on location and working batters. He’s always had great
command and has been a low walk guy, so he’ll never make trouble for himself
by walking hitters, and that should help his consistency going forward.

Down the Line:
The Red Sox starting rotation in 2009 is looking full with Josh Beckett, Jon
Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson, and
possibly a free agent all vying for a starting role. In 2010, Wakefield may be
retired, Buchholz may be a bust, and Masterson may be in the bullpen (all of
which could be true in 2009, too). If a free agent like A.J. Burnett enters the
picture then it’ll get very crowded. This is the problem that comes with an
organization like the Red Sox, who become so heavy in talent. There is no place
for better-than-average major league players.

The best case scenario for Bowden is that he dominates AAA and sees spot starts
for the Red Sox down the stretch in 2009, and during spring training of 2010 he
’s able to compete for a starting job. If there is no room for Bowden in 2010,
don’t expect him to be converted into a reliever because his stuff doesn’t
equate to a smooth transition. So if that happens, he’ll best be used as trade
bait. It’s crazy to think that cheap quality starting pitching is not good
enough for the Red Sox, but this is their future.

ETA: Start of 2010
Potential Career Year Numbers: 200 IP, 169 K, 3.55 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 17 Wins

Notes:
Baseball America rates Bowden 2nd best Red Sox prospect

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◆ From: 118.160.65.214
推 alex710707:用bowden不知道換不換得到salty..
推 albertjet:Bowden+Kalish+Navarro球團不會想同時送Reddick和Bowden
→ albertjet:但其實上面那三個當然是換不到，3B也不可能一次出2隻
推 alex710707:我不懂你的意思..
→ albertjet:意思是Bowden<->Salty不可能1 for 1