by John Leonard

Jonathan Bowlan is best known is the Valley as a 2016 New Market Rebel. In other circles, though, he is known as a fast-rising prospect in the Kansas City Royals' minor league system.

A 2nd round selection in the 2018 draft, Bowlan became even better known on July 15th when he fired a complete game no-hitter for High-A Wilmington against Carolina. Bowlan didn't walk a batter, either, and was only an error away from a perfect game. The no-hitter was the 19th in the minor leagues this season.

The 6-foot-6 righthander got off to a bit of a rough start in pro ball in Idaho Falls of the Pioneer League in 2018, where he went 1-4, 6.94, with 51 hits and nine walks in 35 innings pitched.

This year, though, he's turned things around. Initially assigned to low-A Lexington, he went 6-2, 3.36, with 74 strikeouts and only ten walks in 69.2 innings pitched. He was bumped up a level to Wilmington, and is now 4-1, 2.31, with an incredible 47 strikeouts and only three walks in 39 innings pitched. He is currently 29th in mlb.com's Kansas City Royals top 30 prospect list. (By the way, former Covington Lumberjack Michael Gigliotti is 12th on the list.)

Congratulations, Jonathan, and keep up the good work!