Stephen Hunter Owen (born September 22, 1993) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and outfielder. The

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

drafted him in the 25th round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

, and he made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut for them in 2021.

Amateur career

Owen attended Mater Dei High School and was drafted out of Indiana State University in the 25th round, 765th overall, of the

Professional career

Owen made his professional debut for the Low-A West Virginia Black Bears. In 2017, Owen spent the bulk of the season with the Single-A

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The Dir ...

, slashing .292/.388/.505 with 11 home runs and 45 RBI in 343 plate appearances. The next year, Owen spent the season with the High-A Bradenton Marauders, with a batting line of .262/.317/.464 to go along with a career-high 18 home runs and 60 RBI. In 2019, Owen split the season between the Double-A Altoona Curve and the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

, batting a cumulative .261/.345/.485 with 19 home runs and 53 RBI. Owen did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Owen was invited to Spring Training for the 2021 season but did not make the club and was assigned to Indianapolis to begin the year. On May 4, 2021, Owen was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. Owen made his debut the next day as the starting right fielder against the San Diego Padres. After going hitless in 5 plate appearances, Owen was designated for assignment on May 11, 2021. He was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis on May 15, where he spent the remainder of the year playing in 97 games and hitting .235/.306/.451 with 20 home runs and 53 RBI. Owen played in 21 total games in 2022, split between the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers and Triple-A Indianapolis. In a combined 77 plate appearances, he hit .246/.364/.369 with 1 home run and 8 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 10, 2022. Owen retired in the 2022/23 offseason and became a hitting/infield instructor.

Personal life

Owen's father Steve played first base for the Evansville Purple Aces and his older brother, Tyler, played for the

Murray State Racers The Murray State Racers are the athletic teams that represent Murray State University (MSU), located in Murray, Kentucky, United States, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks (for football, the Football Championship Su ...

. Owen's high school coach was

Jeff Schulz Jeffrey Alan Schulz (born June 2, 1961) is an American former Major League Baseball player. After playing baseball at the University of Southern Indiana, Schulz was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 23rd round of the 1983 draft. Schulz' ...

, a former major leaguer with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

and

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, Hunter 1993 births Living people Baseball players from Evansville, Indiana Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Pittsburgh Pirates players Indiana State Sycamores baseball players West Virginia Black Bears players West Virginia Power players Gulf Coast Pirates players Bradenton Marauders players Altoona Curve players Indianapolis Indians players Greensboro Grasshoppers players