Baltimore’s Adam Loewen has decided to give up pitching after suffering through several injuries to his arm and will try to become an outfielder.  Loewen was drafted No. 4 overall in 2002, and was named Baltimore’s top prospect by Baseball American in 2004.  He was rated second best in 2006.  This move is surprising given how rare a move like this is at the major league level, but the successful conversion of Rick Ankiel shows that it can be done.

Last year Loewen, a left-hander, pitched well for the Orioles before being shut down due to a stress fracture in his pitching elbow.  The injury did not heal properly and required a screw in order to stabilize the joint.  He threw just 21.1 innings this season before learning that he had re-fractured his elbow and was facing 18 months of rehabilitation.  Instead he will head to the Instructional League in the fall and try and learn to hit a baseball.

Loewen, just 24, ends his pitching career with just 29 major league outings.  He did play as a position player in junior college batting .353 in 45 games back in 2003.   "If I did choose the other path of pitching, it would be a long road with no clear ending," Loewen told the Baltimore Sun.  "This is not a simple decision, but it's right there in front of me and it was easy to make for me.”

It’s tough to blame or judge him considering the condition of his arm at such a young age, but his value would be much higher as a pitcher given his talent.  Hopefully Loewen can repeat Ankiel’s success and reach his potential as a baseball player, this time with a bat in his bat.

Adam Loewen has not played in the field regularly since playing 1B for Chippola Junior College back in 2003.