The idea was to give Josh Owens room to develop as a two-way player. It's not the Texas Rangers’ fault that he's drawing all kinds of attention. Texas selected Owens with its third-round pick in last year's MLB draft. He was a pitcher and an infielder at Providence High School in Johnson City, Tenn. Instead of asking him to choose a path, the Rangers decided to give Owens room to explore both options as he played at the Arizona Complex League. It doesn’t seem to matter if he pitches or hits. The opponent suffers. Entering Friday’s action in Arizona, the 19-year-old is slashing .286/.351/.600 with seven home runs and 15 RBI. On the mound he has a 2.08 ERA in five games (one start) with 10 strikeouts and two walks in 8.2 innings. But what he’s been doing lately has been impressive.Josh Owens’ Big Month2-Homer night for Two-Way Player Josh Owens in the Arizona Complex League! 💪 Owens has 5 homers in his last 5 games and a 2.08 ERA on the mound across 8.2 IP so far this season. pic.twitter.com/uArurKXxa3— Rangers Player Development (@TEXPlayerDev) June 12, 2026Since June arrived, he’s been impossible to deal with at the plate. In seven games he’s slashed .419/.438/.903 with five home runs and 11 RBI. That included a home run in three straight games and a two-home run game on Thursday against the Padres. He has 13 hits in 31 at-bats. He made his only pitching appearance of the month on June 6 against the White Sox. He made his first start and gave up two hits and one earned run. He struck out four and walked none. The Rangers have stuck to the plan they set forth during the offseason. Owens appears in a game once a week as a pitcher. He’s had at least seven days off between every appearance. At the plate, Texas avoided playing him in back-to-back games until late May. He’s now played in back-to-back games four times since May 25. It may not be a coincidence that his batting average has gone from .154 to .286 as a result of the extra reps.Shohei Ohtani’s brilliance has compelled organizations to not only pursue two-way players but also to give them more room to determine their path. Oklahoma State star Nolan MacLean, a third-round pick of the New York Mets in 2023, ultimately went the pitching route. San Francisco Giants first-round pick Bryce Eldridge, also selected that season, went the hitting route. Both are now in the Majors. The biggest question the Rangers face is when to promote Owens? Texas’ No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline began his pro career last year and the Rangers put him at Class A Hickory because their ACL team was done for the season. While at Hickory he batted .083, put he pitched four innings and allowed two hits and one unearned run. A full season at the ACL would give Owens a little more than a month to get in more work at Hickory before the season ends. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow