Hey, we’ve moved up a full inch! Bowker is a 6’1” RHP from Vanderbilt. This is another stuff guy with sketchy control. A former 2-way player, Bowker is pretty new to focusing on the mound. Bowker delivers from a 3⁄4 slot that’s not much different from Obemueller’s (though less whippy).
Here’s MLB Pipeline’s profile on him:
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 50 | Cutter: 45 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40 A two-way player as a Georgetown freshman in 2023, Bowker became a full-time pitcher last spring and earned Cape Cod League all-star honors during the summer. After transferring to Vanderbilt, he has become a solid No. 2 starter for the Commodores thanks to one of the more unhittable fastballs in the Draft. It’s his lone better than average offering but could propel him into the top four or five rounds. Bowker usually operates at 90-95 mph with his fastball, but it’s not velocity that makes it special. He uses a drop-and-drive delivery and a low arm slot, producing unusually high spin from an unusually low release height, which makes his heater appear to be rising more than most. He pounds the zone with his fastball and also gets chases with it, and it’s almost impossible to deal with when he throws it at the letters. Bowker doesn’t land his other pitches for strikes consistently, though he can entice batters to chase his sweeping low-80s slider. His cutter and sinking changeup both arrive in the mid-80s but can get pounded if he doesn’t locate them well. Because he has just one weapon that can miss bats, he’ll nibble around the strike zone with his other offerings.
There might be a little drafting for need this year, but they didn’t reach for anyone and all seem to fit a super specific mold. There’s a Fastball/Slider reliever profile here that I feel pretty good about with his weird Fastball. He could move quick through the pen, but maybe they try him as a Starter and see if they can unlock a full arsenal.