Bowden Francis (born April 22, 1996) is an American Major League Baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays (MLB). In 2022, he made his MLB debut.
Francis made his professional debut with the Arizona League Brewers, pitching four games with an 8.10 earned run average (ERA).
Francis pitched for the Class-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and the Advanced-A Carolina Mudcats in 2018, going 7–10 with a 4.50 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 128 innings.
Francis divided the following season between Carolina and the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers, posting an 8–9 record, 3.97 ERA, and 165 strikeouts in 14223 innings of work. Francis did not play in a game in 2020 since the minor league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Francis began the 2021 season with Biloxi before being promoted to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds at the end of May. In 11 games between the two levels, Francis logged a 7–3 record and 3.62 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 592⁄3 innings pitched.
On July 6, 2021, Francis was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays along with Trevor Richards in exchange for Rowdy Tellez. He was assigned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons and remained with the team for the rest of the minor league season.
In 73 innings for the Bisons, Francis went 6–4 with a 4.19 ERA and 71 strikeouts. He was added to the 40-man roster following the season on November 19, 2021. On April 25, 2022, Francis was called up by the Blue Jays.
Bowden has never divulged any information about his parents, he is a very private person who likes to keep his personal life away from media attention.