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Minor league signings: Catcher Carson Blair and pitcher Rudy Owens

By Jeremy F. Koo Updated
Rudy Owens in his major league debut, and only major league appearance.
Rudy Owens in his major league debut, and only major league appearance.
Otto Greule Jr

The Athletics made two minor league signings on Friday, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America:

Carson Blair

Blair, 25, was drafted out of high school by the Boston Red Sox in the 35th round of the 2008 draft. The catcher elected free agency after six seasons with the Red Sox organization, splitting 2014 between Class-A Advanced Salem and Class-AA Portland. 2014 Athletics minor league catchers Luis Martinez and Luke Montz both declared free agency.

Blair has a curiously high number of three true outcomes plate appearances (walk, strikeout, or home run), including 145 out of 291 Class-A Advanced plate appearances in 2014, breaking down to 88 strikeouts, 48 walks, and nine home runs. He basically was the Carolina League's Adam Dunn. He'll probably serve as organizational filler following the departures of minor league catchers Luis Martinez and Luke Montz.

Year Age AgeDif Lev Aff G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG
2008 18 -1.8 Rk BOS 6 23 22 2 9 1 0 1 9 0 0 0 5 .409 .391 .591
2009 19 -0.6 Rk BOS 39 147 124 15 26 8 0 2 20 0 1 16 46 .210 .286 .323
2009 19 -2.1 A- BOS 1 3 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .500 .667 1.000
2010 20 0.3 Rk BOS 8 30 26 7 7 1 0 1 3 0 0 4 10 .269 .367 .423
2010 20 -1.1 A- BOS 4 13 12 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 5 .167 .231 .167
2011 21 -0.1 A- BOS 3 13 13 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 .231 .231 .308
2011 21 -0.4 A BOS 33 115 100 12 19 8 0 3 9 0 0 14 40 .190 .287 .360
2012 22 -0.6 A+ BOS 51 191 165 25 34 11 3 3 24 2 3 21 48 .206 .298 .364
2013 23 2.0 A- BOS 3 13 8 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 2 .250 .462 .375
2013 23 0.2 A+ BOS 41 148 124 21 31 9 2 4 13 2 1 23 39 .250 .372 .452
2014 24 1.1 A+ BOS 67 291 238 40 62 19 2 9 41 0 0 48 88 .261 .385 .471
2014 24 -0.7 AA BOS 17 71 59 11 17 6 1 2 8 0 0 10 19 .288 .394 .525

Statistics courtesy Baseball Reference.

Rudy Owens

Owens, turning 27 in December, made a single start for the Houston Astros last May 23. The left-hander gave up five runs in 5⅔ innings against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Despite appearing on Houston's 40-man roster throughout the year, he was not called up in September, and was outrighted after the end of the regular season, and thereafter opted for free agency.

He arrived in the Houston organization in 2012 in the trade that sent Wandy Rodriguez to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Owens, Colton Cain, and Robbie Grossman. He missed much of 2013 after undergoing surgery for a stress fracture in his left foot, and returned to Triple-A Oklahoma City with a 4.33 ERA in 135 innings and 25 games (21 starts). Owens could still become a back-end starter. In his one Major League start, his fastball averaged 88.3 miles per hour, and he also threw a changeup and curveball.

Year Age AgeDif Lev Aff W L ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO
2007 19 -1.3 Rk PIT 1 4 5.32 6 4 22.0 20 13 13 1 8 0 17
2008 20 -1.4 A- PIT 3 6 4.97 15 13 58.0 63 37 32 2 13 0 45
2009 21 -0.6 A PIT 10 1 1.7 19 19 100.2 71 22 19 8 15 0 91
2009 21 -1.8 A+ PIT 1 1 3.86 6 6 23.1 29 10 10 3 2 0 22
2010 22 -2.2 AA PIT 12 6 2.46 26 26 150.0 124 46 41 11 23 0 132
2011 23 -3.8 AAA PIT 9 7 5.05 21 21 112.1 129 65 63 10 32 2 71
2012 24 -2.8 AAA HOU 2 3 4.34 8 8 45.2 43 23 22 7 14 1 23
2012 24 -3.2 AAA PIT 8 5 3.14 19 19 117.1 112 42 41 12 25 0 85
2013 25 -1.7 AAA HOU 0 3 3.71 4 3 17.0 20 8 7 0 9 1 13
2014 26 -0.8 AAA HOU 8 5 4.33 25 21 135.0 136 69 65 10 33 0 104

Statistics courtesy Baseball Reference.

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