Chris Owings has a future somehwere in MLB either in Arizona or somewhere else. Image: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s face it, the trade that brought over Didi Gregorius complicated matters for Owings.  The D’backs gave up Trevor Bauer, the third overall pick in the 2011 draft to land Gregorius essentially anointing him the shortstop of the near future.  Shortstop also happens to be Owings’s primary position.  Keep in mind that the play of the 21-year old righty swinger has progressed nicely in the Minors since age 17 when he began his career at Missoula of the Pioneer League.  Between High A Visalia and Double A Mobile, Owings enjoyed a fine 2012 season hitting .290 with 17 home runs and 52 RBI’s and twelve stolen bases.  Strikouts are a concern as he whiffed an alarmingly high 132 times in 567 at bats.  Here is an excerpt of what Jonathan Mayo from mlb.com wrote about the Charleston, SC product:

“The tools are there for Owings to be an everyday middle infielder in the big leagues. He has the ability to hit for average, but he needs to work on his plate discipline to get there – there’s too much swing and miss to his game”.

Click here if you want to read the entire report.

It seems that Owings can be a productive every day infielder.  His path at shortstop is blocked and it would seem second base is a no-go either for the foreseeable future as the D’backs just locked up Aaron Hill through 2016.  Owings is ranked number six on the D’backs’ top 20 list of prospects, three behind Gregorius and one place ahead of newly acquired Nick Ahmed, also a shortstop.  Owings could start the season at Mobile before getting a call to Triple A Reno.  Mayo’s report states Owings should arrive in the Majors in 2014.  Whether it is in Arizona or some other destination remains to be seen.  One way or another it seems the former first round pick will be an important part of the D’backs’ plans fairly soon.

Do you think Chris Owings will be part of the Arizona Diamondbacks organization after 2013?

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Shortstop Didi Gregorius hits a RBI single against the Chicago Cubs during the seventh inning at Wrigley Field. Image: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Fellow Venom Strikes writer Thomas Lynch wrote a piece about the lack of coverage and/or trust in 25 year old Gerardo Parra and I couldn’t agree more since at the age of 23 he won a gold glove in left field and finished with a .292 average and .357 OBP. Yet Parra hardly even receives consideration in the running for a starting outfield spot.

It is similar to the situation at shortstop right now for the club with six shortstops on the 40 man roster. The list includes John McDonald, Willie Bloomquist, Cliff Pennington, Didi Gregorius, Chris Owings, and Josh Wilson. And unless one of the last three guys has an incredible spring, it looks like the team will keep three shortstops while expecting them to shift over to second base as needed.

Bloomquist played the most at shortstop in 2012 with John McDonald filling in on off days and then taking over when Bloomquist had back issues keeping him out nearly all of August and September. Pennington was then brought over from the A’s via trade and recently inked a two-year, $5 million deal. I will be the first to say that I’m not very high on the Pennington signing and feel like it is nothing more than a band aid. However, if Towers does have a vision with Pennington manning the position until Gregorius proves he is ready to be an everyday contributor at shortstop, then the D’backs may be alright. Frankly, Pennington’s stats can’t get much worse than they were in 2012 as the 28 year old struggled to a .215/.278/.311 slash line leaving us to only hope that he can produce even mediocre numbers in 2013.

Then, taking a look at just about any of Gregorius’ stats you would wonder if he will ever be major league ready. However, Bernie Pleskoff, a major league scout who covers a great deal of Arizona baseball including the Arizona Fall League puts him at or near the top for most athletic prospect to compete in the highly touted AFL. According to Pleskoff’s article, if the 23 year old can harness some of his raw athleticism (which he believes he will), then the D’backs will get their long term answer at shortstop.

This of course leaves their other shortstop prospect (ranked fifth in D’backs org.) floating in the minor leagues in similar fashion to Parra at the big league level. Before the addition of Pennington and Gregorius, Owings was hoped to be the next man in line and earned a spot in the recent Arizona Fall League to allow Towers and Co. further consideration. Now, as the vision has apparently changed, perhaps we can expect Owings to shift to second base and be the successor to Aaron Hill when his contract expires at the end of 2013.

After all, it is no secret that the D’backs have a plethora of talent in their farm system and if Owings and Gregorius can grow into the players that these scouts and executives expect, at least some of the questions of the 2012 off season will start to make sense.

Will Chris Owings contribute to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2013? (US Presswire: Jennifer Hilderbrand)

In the D’backs organization since 2009, Owings has grown into a shortstop prospect for the team. Known to be an above average shortstop with some pop in his bat, Owings enjoyed a solid 2012 campaign in which he split time between A-Visalia and AA-Mobile. Owings hit a combined .290 between those stops in 538 at bats. Owings showed some solid power numbers hitting 17 home runs, 52 RBI, and 26 doubles in his 128 games in 2012. The season resulted in the organization designated him for the Arizona Fall League, one of the more well known developmental leagues that have featured a number of baseball’s current stars. Owings numbers in the short 21 games weren’t super impressive, including his zero walks in 90 plate appearances, showing that his approach at the plate definitely needs to catch up to his already solid glove work up the middle.

As the team enters the 2013 season, their outlook at shortstop has changed a bit. Pennington was brought over as asolid glove man himself. Gregorious is getting tabbed as the shortstop of the future after coming over in the Bauer deal. Some had questioned why the team went after names like Pennington and Gregorious when it seemed as if they had Owings waiting in the wings. Now, with Gregorious under team control for the forseeable future, some in baseball have mentioned a possible move to second base where he may be able to replace Aaron Hill when his contract is up following the 2013 season.

Whatever the future holds for Owings, it appears that he will be spending 2013 in the D’backs minor league system and the team will likely be looking for him to continue to grow as a hitter and work on plate discipline and pitch selection. Whatever position he ends up in, it appears that the D’backs have some major league talent on their hands that could be a big part of their future.