Since no one else is blogging throughout the month of January, you are stuck with me and my constant (and sad) Diamondbacks updates. Which brings me to the most exciting news of the Arizona off-season. . .MICAH OWINGS IS BACK. Quite possibly my favorite pitcher in the big leagues, due to his duel fantasy baseball threat, Kevin Towers is looking to take his game to the next level.
While competing throughout spring training in the bullpen for the long reliever slot, Owings will also play some innings at first base. While the Diamondbacks already have Juan Miranda and I-will-never-play-in-the-big-leagues Brandon Allen, Owings could still get at bats as a pinch hitter, or a late game substitution. This actually looks to be a smart baseball move. You add another pinch hitter to your roster without depleting the bullpen of an arm.
For a little background on Owings, he is still the career high school home-run leader in Georgia with 69. As a sophomore in high school, Owings hit .630 with 21 home-runs. He played college ball at Georgia Tech for two years before transferring to Tulane for his final two. As a senior, he led the Green Wave to a #1 ranking all while hitting 18 home-runs, slugging .733, and posting a 9.61 strikeouts per nine on the mound. Owings then went on to the minor league system and converted to a full time pitcher going 16-2 with a 3.33 era in 2006. Sadly, that success never carried over and he has spent the rest of his time bouncing between levels.
Why would they have him hit you ask? Lets take a look at his major league career stat line as a hitter.
PA: 198
HR: 9
RBI: 34
K: 62
AVG: .293
Going with a rough average of 600 plate appearances for an everyday ballplayer, a full season in the field could see him finish with something like this. . .
PA: 601
HR: 27
RBI: 103
K: 188
AVG: .291
While the strike out numbers are Mark Reynolds-esk, the offensive numbers themselves are staggering. Yes, I know that most of his numbers are hitting out of the 9 hole, and yes I know his numbers dipped in Cincy, but he will be going back to a very hitter friendly Arizona ballpark and there is a chance for him to replicate. He was an extremely good hitter in high school and was still a very good hitter in college, Owings is just a few years out of practice. After trading away Reynolds and letting Adam Laroche go, the Diamondbacks will be searching for someone to hit the ball a long ways. Enter Micah Owings and his journey to become the MLB's first two way player since Brooks Kieschnick was for the Brewers back in 2003.
Lets hope this goes better than the Melvin Mora experiment at third base.
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Nice Job, everything seems great. I think that you have proved some good points.
ReplyDelete1) Who is this joker saying nice things about posts? I thought we only traded ill will and hatred at this site.
ReplyDelete2) With a full season hitting, I would expect Owings number to regress from his averages, rather than improve. More scouting his hitting, and more PA will surely mean a dip in production. How much? I have no idea, who do I look like The Swami?
3) I had no idea that Owings fantasy value was determined by his tenacity and willingness to challenge others to gun fights. Good to know.
On a serious note, I am really excited to see Owings get a shot at this. His swing has always had a nice look, and I think this is his best (and possibly only) way to make a contribution to a Major league ball club.
Not a good outlook to the season when your best power hitter is a spot start/long relief pitcher...
ReplyDelete1) I too see his numbers regressing quite a bit. I'm not even sure if he will make the roster out of spring training.
ReplyDelete2) Gun fights are the next big thing. (NBT)
3) I hate Mr. Anonymous.
I can't believe that Starzynski wouldn't listen to the people last year and convert Owings into a position player.
ReplyDeleteWhen everyone hates on your team you have to try and make other teams look worse than the one you root for. So...the D-Backs are going to suck next year!
ReplyDelete