Milwaukee Brewers Claim RHP Ben Rowen Off Waivers From Toronto

Following a busy trade deadline, the Milwaukee Brewers have announced an addition to their roster today:

Rowen, 27, was a 22nd round draft pick by the Texas Rangers back in 2010. He spent his first five professional seasons in the Rangers’ system, including his only stint in the big leagues in 2014. In eight appearances covering 8.2 innings, he allowed four earned runs with seven strikeouts and four walks.

Since being released by Texas at the end of 2014, Rowen has bounced around the minor leagues with the Orioles, Cubs, Blue Jays, and now Milwaukee. He’s generally posted excellent run prevention numbers at all of his career stops and owns a 1.85 ERA and 289:81 K/BB ratio across 374.0 minor league innings over the past seven seasons. He’s allowed only eight home runs during his career and boasts a 65% ground ball rate this season.

With Toronto’s AAA affiliate this season, the right hander posted a 2.47 ERA and 2.68 FIP in 47.1 innings covering 37 appearances, striking out 33 while walking 11. He was DFA’d following the Blue Jays’ acquisition of Francisco Liriano.

According to his Pitch F/X numbers from his brief cup of coffee in 2014, Rowen features a fastball/slider/curveball combination...with his fastball averaging 78.8 MPH. He throws from a submarine-style windup:

Rowen will begin his tenure with the organization by pitching out of the Sky Sox bullpen and will serve as depth after the big league club traded both Will Smith and Jeremy Jeffress before the non-waiver deadline.

Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs