The Texas Rangers signed former Florida catcher Karson Bowen to a minor league contract on Thursday, after he went undrafted.
While no financial details of the signing are available, the Rangers have already assigned him to their rookie ball club in the Arizona Complex League. A California native, Bowen spent the first three years of his college career at TCU in Fort Worth, which explains how he got and stayed on Texas’ radar.
In his lone season at Florida, Bowen slashed .261/.353/.431 with a .784 OPS while starting 47 of 55 games behind the plate for the Gators. He also made five starts as a designated hitter and three at first base. Bowen had a knack for putting the ball in play, often up the middle. He flashed some power with a career-high seven home runs, two triples, 11 doubles and 33 RBI.
Defensively, Bowen is sound at catcher. He had a .994 fielding percentage with just three errors over 545 chances. He threw out 11 runners and had a tournament-best 9-for-10 success rate on ABS challenges at the SEC Tournament.
“Karson, he’s the glue,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said during the SEC Tournament. “He’s that rock, a leader behind the plate… If you’re going to make a run in the tournament, that position is invaluable, and he’s certainly filled it.”
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Former Florida catcher Karson Bowen signs with Texas Rangers as UDFA
Reporting by David Rosenberg, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By David Rosenberg, Gators Wire | USA TODAY Network
