Owings and Didi will duke it out in one of the most interesting position battles the D'Backs have ever had.
The past one year
| Year | G | PA | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | |||||
| 2013 | 20 | 61 | 55 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 10 | .291 | .361 | .382 | .742 | 0.3 |
| 1-Yr Ave | 20 | 61 | 55 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 10 | .291 | .361 | .382 | .742 | 0.3 |
2014 projections
| Year | G | PA | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | |||||
| Steamer | 37 | 150 | 141 | 14 | 37 | 3 | 15 | 5 | 29 | .264 | .293 | .386 | .679 | 0.3 |
| Oliver | 143 | 600 | 567 | 68 | 152 | 9 | 59 | 24 | 140 | .268 | .300 | .386 | .687 | 2.6 |
| ZIPS | 145 | 639 | 612 | 72 | 165 | 11 | 67 | 22 | 137 | .270 | .298 | .392 | .690 | 1.9 |
| PECOTA | 247 | 23 | 5 | 24 | .248 | .265 | .367 | .632 | 0.5 |
Is Owings the shortstop of the future?
If you would have asked any Dbacks fan this question in 2011 and early 2012, the answer would have most likely been "Absolutely! Owings and Eaton are our players of the future, along with the great pitching from Bauer and Skaggs! GO D'BACKS!!!!!!"
I think it's safe to say things have changed a little since then. Not only does it seem that half of our young players on new teams, but Owings is no longer the lone shortstop prospect in the Dbacks system. Some guy named Didi Gregorius came along, and played 103 games for the Snakes last season. And now the battle for shortstop has started in earnest.
You might as well get used to hearing about this shortstop battle and trade speculations for the rest of 2014. I'm not sure where this battle ranks in importance in D'Backs history, but when the freaking Yankees are interested in having Owings or Didi to replace Derek Jeter, the decision is a pretty big one. So will Owings win the battle?
His projections are pretty mediocre, as the highest BA he's expected to hit is .270. I'm pretty surprised by this, as he hit .290 in limited time last year, and won the PCL MVP by hitting .330. His power could use an increase, but don't get your hopes up on that. His speed is very good and should get around 15-20 stolen bases in 2014.
The one area in hitting he really needs to improve on is his patience. You won't hit .330 in the majors, and that's where Owings could really use the walks and working the pitcher. He showed a little better plate discipline in his time in the majors, so hopefully he can build off that in 2014. His defense is below average, and that's the category where Didi demolishes Owings. Didi's fieldiing ability alone might keep him over Owings. If Owings hit well enough where KT can't get rid of him, there might be the possibility where Aaron Hill gets traded to make room for Owings at second base.
Best Scenario: Owings is everything as advertized on offense, and maybe a little more. His defense and patience improves, and we get a good package for Didi or Hill. (Although It would suck to see either one of them go.)
Worst Scenario: Owings doesn't improve on his weaknesses, and his average goes down, but he becomes an all star when he gets traded.