November 20, 2023

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

After missing most of the 2022 season due to Tommy John surgery, San Diego Padres prospect Carter Loewen (Abbotsford, B.C.) was looking to make some headway this past season.

“It was kind of hard because I didn’t have a super healthy offseason, as I got sick and couldn’t train as much as I wanted,” said Loewen, speaking to the Canadian Baseball Network. “I also got COVID early into the 2023 season after I got placed at Lake E (Lake Elsinore). I ended up heading back to Arizona and it was there that I found my velocity again and the rest is kind of history.”

The former Abbotsford Cardinal (who is not related to ex-big leaguer Adam Loewen) entered the 2023 season healthy and ready to contribute, with the Padres assigning him to single-A Lake Elsinore to begin the season.

With the Storm, Loewen pitched to a 2.04 ERA through 17 2/3 innings while striking out opposing batters at an 11.2 K/9 clip while limiting the hits to a 6.1 H/9. The right-hander also racked up a 1.019 WHIP through his 16 outings in single-A and held opponents off the scoreboard in 13 of those outings, striking out two or more batters in at least seven appearances with the Storm.

“The staff in Lake Elsinore worked really well with how I went into games. Everybody there was on the same page with me and they were familiar with how things worked within the organization and that really helped me perform well on the mound.”

Towards the end of June, Loewen packed his bags for Fort Wayne, Ind., joining the Padres’ High-A affiliate.

“I have never been moved in the system and we were playing in Rancho, and the team was trying to win the first half and secure that spot in the playoffs. I ended up pitching on Sunday, and I was asked how I felt coming out of the inning, thinking they were going to ask me to go out and pitch another, and I was actually asked if my arm was good enough to go to Fort Wayne. I was super excited and manager Pete Zamora announced to the locker room all the guys who were heading up to High-A and congratulated everyone for their efforts in the playoff push, and it was such a great experience.”

Loewen quickly got his first win in the 2023 season with the TinCaps out of the way, going one inning while striking out two batters with one walk in relief against the Lake County Captains.

During his time with the TinCaps, Loewen made 18 relief appearances and posted a 2.30 ERA through 31 1/3 innings, increasingly finding himself going two innings or more. In High-A, Loewen allowed eight earned runs and posted a 1.213 WHIP while striking out opponents at a 10.3 K/9 to round out the regular season. This wasn’t his first foray with the TinCaps, as Loewen posted a 4.84 ERA through 21 appearances back in 2021 before he was on the IL.

“It was a different experience to go back to Fort Wayne, as I was there in 2021 before I tore my UCL. It almost seemed like everything was coming back full circle because of how I was two years removed from Tommy John. I had to tell myself that I was healthy and ready to go and after a few outings I was ready to go and I think everything just fell in line.”

The 2023 season was a new set of firsts for the B.C. product, as he pitched a career-high 49 innings while also posting a collective 2.20 ERA through 34 outings (another career high for the right-hander). Another key factor was his command, as the Padres prospect dropped his BB/9 to below the 3.5 mark, posting a 3.1 BB/9 with Lake Elsinore and a 3.4 BB/9 with Fort Wayne. This increased command played a big role in his success while using his 6-foot-4 frame to generate whiffs on both his fastball and slider offerings.

Looking ahead, Loewen wants to continue to improve on the field and keep proving that he should continue to get opportunities to advance up the ladder within the Padres’ farm system.

“I think the goal next season is just to try and keep getting better and work towards a callup for a big league opportunity, which I think a lot of guys my age are trying to shoot for. This offseason, I am going to continue to work on my fastball velocity and be able to give more to whatever team I pitch for and be able to go more than just two innings, maybe hit the three to four innings mark and just prove that I can handle the workload while pitching quality innings.”

If Loewen can come into the 2024 campaign and continue to pitch well, there is no doubt that the right-hander will get an opportunity to prove himself at the next level, at least starting in double-A next season with the opportunity to advance later on in the season.