Ben Rowan was signed to a minor league contract by the Mets in mid-December. He had an active few years in terms of moving around. He was drafted in 2010 by the Rangers out of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and was released in December 2014.
He signed with the Dodgers in January of 2015 and was traded to the Orioles in the first week of April. The Orioles released him in July of that year and the next day he was signed by the Cubs who then put him on waivers a month later where the Blue Jays got him. A year and a day later, the Blue Jays put him on waivers and the Brewers selected him. At the end of the season he was granted Free Agency where the Mets got him.
He made his major league debut in 2014 where he tossed 8.2 innings over 8 games and a 4.15 ERA. Last year he tossed 3.0 innings over 4 games for the Brewers and allowed 5 ER, 6 total. So not of lot of major league work to look at.
He does have an interesting lineout note in the Baseball Prospectus 2017 Annual. “Is a submarine fastball a screwball? Ben Rowen’s is 80-82 mph, drops six inches compared to a spin-less ball and runs seven inches armside” (Nicholas Zettel, Mauricio Rubio and BP Staff). This is ultimately why I’ll be watching the right hander in Spring this year. He’s got a different type of delivery and unusual pitch. He was effective in the minors last year posting a 2.47 ERA in Buffalo in 37 games and then a 1.69 ERA in Colorado Springs. And for the most part, his minor league stats look good.
There’s nothing for the Mets to lose here, and I’m intrigued. Are you?
