Dustin McGowan
From BR Bullpen
Dustin Michael McGowan
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 3", Weight 220 lb.
- High School Long County High School
- Debut July 30, 2005
- Born March 24, 1982 in Savannah, GA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
"Kid, you've got something special. You're not an average starter. You're a way above-average starter and you're stuff is electric." - Frank Thomas, explaining what he's been saying to McGowan since spring training
Dustin McGowan was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1st round (33rd pick) of the 2000 amateur draft out of Long County High School in Ludowici, GA. He was signed by the club on June 20, 2000. McGowan was drafted out of high school, and was recognized as the team MVP in both baseball and basketball. He was also All-Region in basketball and All-State in baseball. He also played Little League baseball as a youth.
In the minors in 2000 with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays, he was in eight games and went 0-3 with an ERA of 6.48. In 2001, he played A-ball with Auburn and was in 15 games with a 3.76 ERA and WHIP of 1.58. 2002 saw him in Charleston-WV (again playing A-ball, now at the full-season level), going 28 games with a 4.19 ERA and WHIP of 1.36.
He moved to the Dunedin Blue Jays in 2003 for 14 games with WHIP of 1.15 and a 2.85 ERA. He also played for the New Haven Ravens that year (AA-ball), again in 14 games with a 1.27 WHIP and a 3.17 ERA.
McGowan spent 2004 exclusively for the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats, with only limited playing time. He was in 6 games, with an ERA of 4.06 with a WHIP of 1.26.
In 2005 he bounced around between Dunedin and New Hampshire, making his Major League debut on July 30, 2005 with Toronto. In 13 games with the parent club, his WHIP was 1.46 with 6.35 for the ERA. For 2006, McGowan played in 23 games for Syracuse at AAA, then went to Toronto for 16 games with a terrible 7.24 ERA. 2007 was much better, with a 1.64 ERA in Syracuse over 5 games, and 4.08 ERA in Toronto in 27 games.
McGowan stayed north of the border for 2008, playing 19 games for Toronto with a 4.37 ERA, but his season was cut short by a shoulder injury. He did not play in 2009, as he was recovering from debridement surgery on his right shoulder, the intervention having been performed on July 31 of the previous year. Notably, McGowan threw a one-hitter for the Blue Jays on June 24, 2007.
McGowan finally returned to the mound in 2011, having missed two full seasons of action. He first made 7 starts for Dunedin, going 0-2, 2.87, the 5 more with New Hampshire, where he was also 0-2, with a 2.75 ERA. Working on strict pitch counts, he had pitched only 35 1/3 innings between the two stops, but had shown enough to convince the Jays to give a shot back in the majors as the season was winding down. He pitched four innings in relief against the Boston Red Sox on September 6th, giving up 3 runs in a game the Jays lost, 14-0, then made his first major league start since July 8, 2008 on September 11th against the Baltimore Orioles. He gave up 4 runs in 3 innings, but did not figure in the decision as the Jays rallied for a 6-5 win.
