Taking a look at potential Texas Rangers draft pick Josh Owens
2025 MLB Draft Preview: Josh Owens scouting report
The 2025 MLB Draft is less than two weeks away — the first round kicks off on July 13, 2025 — so its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #12, their second round pick is at #52, and their third round pick is at #84.
Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first three picks. Today we are looking at Tennessee prep infielder Josh Owens.
Josh Owens is a 6’3”, 185 lb. lefthanded hitting shortstop out of Providence Academy in Johnson City, Tennessee. Owens was a two-sport athlete in high school, playing football as well as baseball, and also pitched some. The son of former career minor leaguer Jeremy Owens, he is committed to Georgia Southern. Owens turned 18 in January.
Owens is a player with a solid all-around game, and gets good marks for his bat-to-ball skills. He lacks power currently, but has a swing that provides for loft, and the expectation is that the power will come as he fills in. BA notes that he had impressive top-end exit velocities at the combine. He has not played a lot on the summer circuit in the past, so there are questions about how he will fare against better competition.
Owens is a quality athlete who could end up at a number of positions. While he is currently a shortstop, he might not stick there, in which case he has the arm to handle third base. He is also looked at as someone who could possibly play center field, given his speed and arm strength. MLB Pipeline puts a 70 on his speed, while BA has it at 55, which is a pretty good sized variance, though they agree he’s a quality athlete who has better than average speed.
Baseball America has Owens at #77 on their top 500 list. MLB Pipeline’s draft rankings have Owens at #89. Keith Law’s top 100 list does not include Owens. Kiley McDaniel’s top 150 list has Owens at #136. Fangraphs does not have Owens on their board.
When I was reading about Owens, I was thinking, tall, skinny guy out of Tennessee with speed, a good lefthanded stroke, athleticism, projectable power, and a limited track record on the travel circuit, Evan Carter came to mind, and sure enough, at the end of BA’s write-up of Owens, they say he “earns some Evan Carter comparisons.”
Owens would seem likely to go somewhere in rounds two through four, and given his committed to Georgia Southern rather than one of the powerhouse baseball programs, he’d seem to be an easier sign than some other prep players who would be expected to go in that range.
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