Rowe, in his ninth season of professional baseball, begins his first year with the Ducks. He began the season with the Abilene Prairie Dogs of the North American Baseball League, posting a 2.75 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 12 starts. Last season, the right-hander pitched in 29 games (10 starts) for El Paso of the American Association.

The 30-year-old spent the first three season of his professional career in the Kansas City Royals organization, reaching as high as Single-A High Desert in 2006. A native of Ohio, he has a career record of 25-31 with a 4.41 ERA in 254 games (31 starts) and has struck out 318 batters in 471 and two-thirds innings. Rowe was drafted by the Royals in the 20th round of the 2004 amateur draft.