’Topes lefty having great week
Bowden gets promotion, his alma mater wins CWS and he gets All-Star invite
Ben Bowden hasn’t visited a New Mexico casino yet but this might be a good week to try his luck.
Pretty much everything has come up aces for Bowden, the Albuquerque Isotopes’ newest left-handed relief pitcher.
Yes, Bowden gave up a solo home run in an inning of relief during Friday night’s 15-14 Tacoma victory at Isotopes Park, but it felt like a blip on the radar screen. Over the course of the past 10 days Bowden:
Was promoted from DoubleA Hartford to and made his Triple-A debut.
Celebrated a College World Series championship won by his alma mater Vanderbilt.
Found out he’d been selected
to pitch in the 2019 All-Star Futures Game on July 7 in Cleveland, where he’ll be the Colorado Rockies’ lone representative.
Ranking the highlights might have been the toughest part of Bowden’s week.
“Yeah, I’m pretty excited,” Bowden said. “Playing in the Futures Game is obviously an honor and it’s nice to get a chance to represent the Rockies. I’m definitely looking forward to it.”
Still, college ties run deep. Bowden played in back-to-back College World Series finals in 2014 and ’15, helping Vanderbilt win a national title in the former. He admittedly felt a bit distracted Wednesday when the Commodores were battling Michigan in the decisive game of this year’s CWS.
“The game started before ours so we watched the first couple innings in the clubhouse,” Bowden said. “Once we got out in the bullpen I was asking fans and everyone for updates. I didn’t find out the final score until after our game, though.” His reaction to Vandy’s 8-2 win? “Incredible,” Bowden said. “I couldn’t be happier for those seniors. I’m still close to those guys.”
Bowden’s college career was impressive enough that the Rockies spent a second-round pick on him in 2016. The jury remained out on that selection when Bowden missed the entire 2017 season with back issues, but things have since turned around.
The 6-foot-4 lefty from Lynn, Massachusetts, returned to pitch well at two Class-A stops in 2018 and came into this season as the Rockies’ No. 16-rated prospect. In 2019 Bowden has been dominant.
Coming into Friday’s game, he had allowed four earned runs in 28 appearances (27⅔ innings) with a 1.30 earned-run average and 43 strikeouts between stints in Double-A Hartford and Albuquerque. Bowden’s mid-90s fastball-changeup-slider mix has a chance to play well in Denver, but he’ll have to prove it in Albuquerque first.
Bowden, 24, said he’d only driven through the Duke City prior to this week and he’d never pitched previously in a high-altitude venue. He’s gotten a quick tutorial in his first home series with the ’Topes, allowing solo home runs to Tacoma’s Jose Lobaton and John Andreoli. Bowden had allowed just two homers with Hartford.
“Ball flight is a little different here,” Bowden said with a nod. “You hold your breath when the ball’s hit in the air. But I feel like you can succeed with the same stuff here, it just comes down to execution and working down in the zone. I’ll adjust.” FREAKY FRIDAY: Jake Fraley’s RBI single in the 10th inning put Tacoma ahead for good in a bizarre 34-hit slugfest. The Rainiers overcame a 5-0 deficit and later blew an 11-6 lead before rallying for the win in 3 hours, 51 minutes.
Albuquerque tied the game at 13 with a run in the ninth and had the bases loaded with one out. But Nelson Molina popped up a squeeze bunt attempt and Brian Mundell was doubled off third base to end the inning.