Henry Cole Owens (born July 21, 1992) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who is currently a free agent. He previously played for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

Amateur career

Owens attended Edison High School in Huntington Beach, California. He earned the Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Baseball State Player of the Year Award in 2011, after posting a 12–1 record with a 1.15

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and three saves, while

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

140 batters in 91⅔ innings of work. He also was named a 2011

Louisville Slugger Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

High School All-American and earned 2011 Sunset League Pitcher of the Year honors for the two consecutive years.

Professional career

Boston Red Sox

The

selected Owens in the first round (36th overall) of the

2011 MLB Draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

. He signed with them on August 15, 2011 for a $1.5 million signing bonus. Owens made his professional debut in 2012 with the

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

(SAL), sporting a 12–5 record and a 4.87 ERA in 23 games, including 130 strikeouts and 47 walks in innings. In addition, he finished fourth in the SAL for the most strikeouts, while tying for fourth in wins. Entering 2013, Owens was ranked as the eighth best prospect in the Red Sox organization and ranked 77th in the MLB.com Top 100 Prospects list. He promoted to the

Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Carolina League. Ho ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

on April 2. On July 17, he struck out a season-high tying 10 in six innings, while combining with two other pitchers to deliver the first no-hitter in franchise history in a 6–0 win over the

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team masc ...

. Overall, he posted an 8–5 record and a 2.92 ERA over 20 starts for Salem, including a hitless streak of 19⅓ innings, gaining a promotion to the

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The Sea Dogs became part of the Red Sox syst ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Eastern League on August 1. With the Sea Dogs, Owens went 3–1 with a 1.78 ERA, striking out 46 in just 30⅓ innings over six starts. He was a Carolina League Mid-Season All-Star, as well as SoxProspects.com's 2013 Pitcher of the Year. Additionally, he made the Baseball America Minor League All-Star Team. Owens started the 2014 season by pitching a rain-shortened six-inning no-hitter for the Sea Dogs. Making 20 starts in Portland, Owens compiled a record of 14–4 with 3 complete games in 121 innings, with 126 strikeouts and an earned run average of 2.60. He was promoted to the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

International League on August 2, 2014. He was a mid-season and post-season All-Star with Portland as well as Eastern League Pitcher of the Year. Owens was invited to Spring Training with the Red Sox in 2015 but began the season with Pawtucket. He was 3–8 with a 3.16 ERA in 21 AAA starts. The Red Sox promoted Owens to the major leagues on August 4. He made his debut by striking out the first batter he faced in the game, Jacoby Ellsbury. and went on to allow three runs in five innings to take the loss against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. He collected his first MLB win in his second start on August 9 against the Detroit Tigers at

Comerica Park Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium. History Construction Founded in 1894, the Tigers had played at the c ...

, allowing one run through five innings. He made 11 starts in 2015, with a 4–4 record and 4.57 ERA. He spent most of the 2016 season with Pawtucket, where he was 10–7 with a 3.92 ERA in 24 starts but he also made five starts for the Red Sox in the majors, and was 0–2 with a 6.95 ERA in those appearances. In 2017, Owens battled with his command and spent the entire season in the minors, split between Pawtucket (14 starts) and Portland (12 starts) and was a combined 7–11 with a 4.21 ERA. Owens was removed from the Red Sox 40-man roster on December 5, 2017 and placed on waivers.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On December 8, 2017, Owens was claimed off waivers by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 22, he was claimed again, this time by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. Owens was designated for assignment on May 18, 2018, after having spent the first two months of the season on the minor league disabled list. He was released that same day.

Second stint with Diamondbacks

On June 1, 2018, Owens signed a minor league deal with the

. He was released by the organization on March 25, 2019.

Kansas City T-Bones

On June 11, 2019, Owens signed with the

Kansas City T-Bones The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Kansas. Formerly known as the Kansas City T-Bones, they are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball; which, in 2020, became designated as a Majo ...

of the independent

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

Sugar Land Skeeters

On March 16, 2020, Owens was traded to the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metr ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in exchange for Chuck Taylor. In July 2020, Owens signed on to play for the Sugar Land Lightning Sloths of the

Constellation Energy League The Constellation Energy League was an independent baseball league that operated in Texas during 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions limiting travel, and as a way to create opportunities for minor league players. History The league consisted of ...

(a makeshift 4-team independent league created as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

) for the 2020 season.

Lexington Legends

On February 26, 2021, Owens signed with the

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends ha ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He became a free agent following the season. On March 3, 2022, Owens re-signed with the Legends for the 2022 season. He was released on September 1, 2022.

Pitching style

Owens's pitching arsenal features an

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

and a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

, which he combines with a slow curveball () and an occasional slider.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Henry 1992 births Baseball players from California Boston Red Sox players Greenville Drive players Kansas City T-Bones players Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Pawtucket Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players Salem Red Sox players Sportspeople from Huntington Beach, California Peoria Javelinas players Lexington Legends players Sugar Land Lightning Sloths players Hillsboro Hops players Arizona League Diamondbacks players