You guessed it, we’re back to picking college arms! This time, it’s the unique combo of righty arm/lefty bat
In the 14th round of the MLB Draft, the White Sox drafted righthander Noah Owen of Golden West Junior College in California.
The 6´4´´, 200-pound starter has hopped around a bit in his short career. He first signed with the University of San Diego, where he pitched in 13 games (three starts) to a 5.91 ERA. Owen transferred to the University of California at Santa Barbara for his sophomore season in 2020, and due to the coronavirus truncation of the season pitched just one inning (with a perfect 0.00 ERA!).
Moving on to Golden West this season, Owen nearly doubled his career college output to date, with 40 innings over seven games (six starts), going 2-2 with a 3.15 ERA. While control was a huge issue for Owen in his career to that point (19 walks, 19 Ks), the righty cleaned that up right nice with the Rustlers in 2021, throwing 49 Ks to just seven walks.
Here’s some footage of a very raw Owen as a freshman, which manifests his control issues pretty well.
It’s safe to see this pick as a bit of a stretch, but it’s clear that White Sox scouting saw Owen make a turn in his development with his performance with the Rustlers.
Of note: Golden West Junior College was the home of former White Sox Leo Sutherland, and Tim Fortugno — as well as White Sox nemesis Scott Boras.
