The season may not have gotten off to the greatest start for Lynn native and former Colorado Rockies pitcher Ben Bowden, but the former Lynn English star pitcher seems to be finding his groove now that he’s with a new team.
Since getting claimed off waivers and signing with the Tampa Bay Rays’ Triple-A affiliate — the Durham Bulls — back on April 29, Bowden has a 3-0 record in five appearances. He’s thrown six total innings, allowing one run on five hits with eight strikeouts.
The Rockies never formally designated Bowden for assignment or announced that he’d been placed on waivers, though it’s common for teams to try to clear a roster spot in this fashion without first announcing the player’s placement on waivers.
It had been a tough start to the year for Bowden, who pitched in 39 games for Colorado in the 2021 season and went 3-2. But his 6.56 ERA wasn’t enough to keep his roster spot, and he was sent down to the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate in Albuquerque, N.M. to start the 2022 season before being placed on waivers.
Now 27 years old, Bowden was the No. 45 overall draft pick by the Rockies back in 2016 after playing three seasons at Vanderbilt University. Praised by scouting reports for a plus changeup, Bowden has regularly missed bats at a high level in the minors (34.4 percent strikeout rate) but has also yielded too many free passes over the years (11.1 percent walk rate).
But of course, everyone around here remembers him from his days at Lynn English. Named the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior in 2013, Bowden had a 4-2 record with a 0.67 ERA, striking out 84 batters in 52 innings while allowing just 29 hits. In his junior season with the Bulldogs in 2012, he made waves across the region after throwing a perfect game in a win over Marblehead in his first start of the season. He ended up finishing that junior year with 82 strikeouts in 51.2 innings of work.
