Tuesday Links: Owens dominates

The tall, lanky lefty hides the ball well. Photo by Kelly O’Connor, sittingstill.smugmug.com

While the Red Sox were off on Monday, all eye shifted to Pawtucket to watch Red Sox top pitching prospect Henry Owens take a significant step closer to an MLB debut. After carving up the competition in double-A this season by posting a 2.60 ERA in 20 starts, the left-hander was promoted to Pawtucket over the weekend. In his triple-A debut on Monday, Owens proved why he’s regarded as one of the games premier pitching talents. The 22-year old tossed 6.2 of shutout baseball, allowing just 2 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 9. Owens kept hitters off-balance by pairing his low-90’s fastball, with a slow mid-70’s curve, and a swing-and-miss change-up. While it may not seem like much now, Owens promotion is a by-product of the Red Sox blowing up their rotation during the trade deadline. Since the Red Sox needed to fill vacant rotation slots at the MLB level, an opening for Owens in Pawtucket arose.

• Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, the Red Sox are left with a significantly improved offense, as well as a significantly devolved starting rotation. With the departure of established major league pitchers, the Red Sox will use the rest of the 2014 season to determine who can and can not contribute in Boston in 2015. (A breakdown of how the Red Sox stand after July 31)

• With some roster decisions looming, the Red Sox reportedly promoted right handed reliever Heath Hembree and outfielder Corey Brown on Monday. While no corresponding move has been announced yet, demoting Stephen Wright and Mookie Betts seem to be the most logical scenarios. Both Hembree and Brown have spent abbreviated time in the major leagues before, and enjoyed moderate success. (Red Sox to promote Heath Hembree, Corey Brown)

• Along with promoting Henry Owens to triple-A, the Red Sox also advanced the left-hander’s battery mate, Blake Swithart. As it turns out, David Ross’s injury had a trickle down effect that put the wheels in motion to promote the Boston’s number 2 prospect. Swihart promotion comes in the midst of a productive season in double-A Portland, in which he posted a .300/.353/.487 slash and showed a significant increase in power, drilling 12 home runs and 23 doubles. (Red Sox promote Blake Swihart to Triple-A)

• Since being called up by the Red Sox, Christian Vazquez has opened eyes with his defensive prowess behind the plate. The 23-year old has always been regarded as a more defensive oriented backstop, but has also held his own with the bat since joining the Red Sox. Vazquez’s polished skills behind the plate and advanced approach at the plate has earned Vazquez high praise from his fellow teammates. (David Ross impressed by Christian Vazquez who’s been “better than advertised”)

• With the Red Sox currently 14 games out in the AL East standings, Boston will use the rest of the 2014 season as an evaluation period for both rookies and established MLB players. Of the questions that need answering in the final 2 months of the season are Clay Buchholz future as a starter in Boston, and newly-acquired Allen Craig’s declining power. Jackie Bradley’s competency at the plate is also in question, and is perhaps one of the most pressing concerns for the future of the Red Sox roster. (It’s time to move on from Clay Buchholz, and other thoughts on the revamped Red Sox)

• Tweet of the day: This Henry Owens fella is pretty good, huh?