In 1985 — April 1, to be exact — Sports Illustrated published nearly 6,000 words about a New York Mets phenom who could throw a 168-mph fastball without warming up and whose unveiling at spring training was cloaked in as much secrecy as a nuclear weapon.

One problem: Sidd Finch didn’t actually exist.

SI made the whole thing up. Finch was an April Fools’ Day hoax, the fictional creation of writer George Plimpton. And despite the ridiculousness of a reclusive yogi with a subsonic heater, readers fell for it because, well, almost nothing in sports is as tantalizing as the kid pitcher with boundless promise.

All of which brings us to Henry Owens.

Make no mistake: Owens is real, even though reports of his feats in the minor leagues last summer — 191⁄3 consecutive no-hit innings! — seemed too good to be true. The Red Sox plucked him from high school with the 36th overall pick in the 2011 draft, and last year he posted a 2.67 ERA and 169 strikeouts in 135 innings. In six starts after being promoted to Double A, the 21-year-old lefty had a 1.78 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 301⁄3 innings despite being the third-youngest pitcher in the Eastern League.

“That guy is amazing,” said catcher Blake Swihart, Owens’ teammate for most of the past two seasons. “He gets guys out with any pitch. Every pitch is a strength. He doesn’t have a weakness.”

Added fellow pitcher Matt Barnes, drafted 17 picks before Owens: “He’s got one of the best changeups I’ve ever seen. Great curveball. Attacks hitters. Isn’t afraid to go after somebody. He’s obviously got a ton of talent.”

Indeed, Owens is at the head of the Red Sox’ class at a time when the upper levels of the farm system are flush as ever with pitching prospects.

Allen Webster, Rubby De La Rosa, Alex Wilson, Brandon Workman and Drake Britton got a taste of the majors last year, with Workman even pitching the second-to-last inning of the World Series. And although the others displayed their various warts, such as Webster’s habit of giving up homers and De La Rosa being out of shape, they’re still very much in the Sox’ plans. Within the next 12-18 months, Owens, Barnes, Anthony Ranaudo, Noe Ramirez and recently signed Cuban defector Dalier Hinojosa are in line to join them.

They won’t all make it, of course. That’s the nature of prospects, many of whom are just like Sidd Finch — hyped on paper, letdowns in person. But with so many promising young arms, the Sox are bound to turn up at least a few homegrown starters, a valuable commodity given the exploding price for free agent pitchers.

“Having a group of guys who were pretty excited to at least get their feet wet at the upper levels last year, we feel good about it,” farm director Ben Crockett said during the team’s rookie development camp last month. “There’s a lot of work left to be done with that group. But given the caliber of the arms there, I think we’re excited about the progress that can be made this year.”

Oh, Henry

Finch was described by his creator as “tall, gawky,” two words that may be applied to Owens, 6-foot-7 with a lean, long face and blond hair that has been cut short after growing scraggly last summer.

When the Red Sox drafted him out of Edison High in Huntington Beach, Calif., between Los Angeles and San Diego, Owens weighed 181 pounds. These days, he fluctuates between 210 and 215 depending on how much time he spends in the weight room.

“In high school, it was almost like I’d lift to look good, not lift to play good,” Owens said. “Beach muscles.”

So, in the 2011-12 offseason, agent Joe Urbon sent Owens to a Tampa-area compound to train alongside Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard, Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, then-Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez and other major leaguers.

After a few days, Owens was hooked.

“Our fear was that he would run from it. He really embraced it,” Urbon said by phone. “It kicked his (butt), but he learned how to work hard and what it meant to do certain things. He got so intoxicated by the results that he has really adapted that way of training and eating.”

Owens doesn’t have overpowering stuff. Even in high school, Urbon didn’t recall Owens’ high-80s/low-90s fastball standing out from the crowd.

Where Owens was different, aside from his sheer size and his command of a changeup that Class-A Salem pitching coach Kevin Walker describes as “the best I’ve ever seen from a kid this young,” was his aptitude. Even at age 18, according to Urbon, Owens was able to outsmart hitters by recalling how he fared previously against them and making adjustments from one at-bat to the next.

“Everyone thinks he’s this goofy, Southern California surfer kid,” Urbon said, using the adjective — “goofy” — chosen by Barnes and Swihart. “He likes that label. But he’s as smart as they come when it comes to the mental aspect of the game.”

Walker would agree, especially after working with Owens last season. Even during the no-hit streak, which spanned parts of four starts in July, Walker said Owens chose to focus on things he could do better rather than basking in the success he was having.

And while Owens jokes that his biggest obstacle to reaching the majors with the Red Sox is “I can’t really grow facial hair yet,” there is one area in which he still must improve: command of his fastball. Although he struck out 11.3 batters per nine innings last season, better than fellow lefty Jon Lester during his minor league career, he also averaged 4.5 walks per nine innings.

“What I really love most is his drive,” Walker said. “He’s never content with five no-hit innings or a 19-inning streak. His whole focus is, I need to get better than I was yesterday to reach that ultimate goal, which is not pitching in Salem, not pitching in Portland, but pitching for the Boston Red Sox. That is really the separator with him.”

Arms race

It shouldn’t be long now. Not for any of the Sox’ top pitching prospects, all of whom have progressed at least to Double A. Ranaudo was added to the 40-man roster in November, joining Workman, Webster, De La Rosa and Britton. Owens, Barnes, Ramirez and Hinojosa received non-roster invitations to spring training.

And they will get a chance to pitch, too. With the Red Sox easing Lester, Clay Buchholz and John Lackey back to the mound this spring after their postseason workloads, there will be innings in Grapefruit League games for the young pitchers.

Before long, those innings will exist in games that count.

Even if Lester agrees to a contract extension, Ryan Dempster and Jake Peavy will be free agents after the season. General manager Ben Cherington has suggested that a spot in the rotation will open within the next year or two, and he’d much rather see one of the young pitchers claim it than have to give an eight- or nine-figure contract to a free agent.

“We all know the opportunity that’s at hand, and I think everybody’s working really hard to reach that goal,” Ranaudo said. “This might be one of the most competitive groups of guys I’ve ever been around. We’re all pushing each other. That’s the fun part. If you’re a young pitcher, it’s definitely a great time to be a part of this organization.”