Balancing act: Braves OF prospect succeeds by slowing things down in the desert
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GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Owen Carey has one word on his mind a lot. Jumpy.
Finding the right balance between the positive and negative sides of that adjective has been one of the defining parts of his life dating back to his days as a baseball and hockey star in his hometown of Londonderry, New Hampshire.
“I'm very high-energy, high-twitch,” he said. “I just like to always go. I think that's one of my things I try to work on. When I'm toning myself down a little bit, that's when I'm at my best, not when I'm at 100. But I'm so used to being at 100. I don't know if that comes from hockey, but I'm always used to being high-intent, and I actually tone it back when I'm in the box.”
Now in the Arizona Fall League, the Braves’ No. 21 prospect is showing what he’s capable of when he’s suitably restrained as a hitter.
After going 2-for-4 with a double and a walk in Glendale’s 13-10 loss to Peoria on Thursday at Camelback Ranch, Carey is riding a six-game hitting streak for the Desert Dogs and has multiple hits in four of his last five contests. He is 10-for-23 (.435) with two triples, the double and seven walks during the streak -- a stark contrast to going 3-for-16 (.188) in his first six games.
To Carey’s point about jumpiness, he swung at 56 percent of the pitches he saw in those first half-dozen games with Glendale. Over the last six, the left-handed-hitting slugger reeled that swing rate down to 46 percent as he stayed more within himself and within the zone.
It’s been a theme throughout the outfielder’s age-19 season.
Carey got in 12 games with High-A Rome to begin his second full campaign in April, only to suffer an infection in his right heel that required a procedure to clear out. He didn’t return to the Emperors lineup until June 9 (with a few Florida Complex League rehab appearances beforehand) but opened 6-for-39 (.154) with 11 strikeouts in his first 10 games back in the South Atlantic League.
“I thought I was myself the day after surgery, but obviously that's just me,” Carey said. “They did a good job taking care of me down there. It took me I would say probably the week after I came back. I had a rough week. Again, jumpy. The coordinator comes down, settles me down, talks to me, [says] it's all right. That changed my whole trajectory.”
Carey hit .314/.396/.568 with six homers in his next 31 games after that initial rough run back with Rome and was promoted to Double-A Columbus on Aug. 4, about two weeks after his 20th birthday. He produced just a .211/.296/.323 line in 35 games in the Southern League while swinging at 57 percent of pitches, making the Fall League a good opportunity to make up for lost at-bats from the heel issue and to end on a brighter note.
His .333/.469/.462 line in 12 games with Glendale speaks well to that second point.
It’s all part of the learning process for the Granite State native, who around this time three years ago was getting ready for his senior year of hockey at Londonderry High (after previously playing juniors as a prepster) while holding a baseball commitment to Rutgers. When the Braves offered him $150,000 (the maximum without dipping into their bonus pool) to sign as a 15th-rounder in the 2024 Draft, he knew his path was headed to the pro game.
Carey’s arc fits the theme of the current Braves farm system. Fifteen of Atlanta’s Top 30 prospects, including six of the top eight, came to the organization as high-school Draft picks. Such players require longer roads, but there’s significant upside if you’re willing to be patient as a development group.
Or in Carey’s case, be less jumpy.
“There was really no conversation for me,” he said. “I didn't have an agent. I didn't know about how much money you could make, and if they offered me -- even if they didn't offer me any money -- I was going to go. I just wanted to get here, get my foot in the door and start working.”