Colton Cowser 2021

[bobmc]

55 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Cowser had a great start to his professional career. The OBP (.476), wRC+ (158) and WOBA (.435) were all very impressive at Delmarva. Next year I'd like to see him tap into his power a bit more, but nothing to be unhappy about right now. Besides, is anyone going to be upset if he can be a .380-.400 OBP guy at the major league level even if he ends up only hitting 8-15 homers a year? 

I'm gonna guess that this hornet's nest will have some who will - "He's a #5 pick"!  "We coulda had "X" at 5!"  "Elias was just being cheap!" .  I'm not upset, however.

[Ruzious]

2 ex-O's, Palmeiro and Steve Finley were thought to be weak singles hitters until they weren't.  Finley never hit more than 11 homers until age 31 and ended up with over 300 for his career - with 4 season of 30 or more.  I expect the power will come for Cowser - a hitter's a hitter, and he's a hitter.    

[RZNJ]

28 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

2 ex-O's, Palmeiro and Steve Finley were thought to be weak singles hitters until they weren't.  Finley never hit more than 11 homers until age 31 and ended up with over 300 for his career - with 4 season of 30 or more.  I expect the power will come for Cowser - a hitter's a hitter, and he's a hitter.    

Those guys may have had some help from the medecine cabinet.  There were rumors about Finley and we know about Palmeiro.   There are other guys who gained power.   Kirby Puckett is a pretty good example.

[LookinUp]

1 hour ago, RZNJ said:

Those guys may have had some help from the medecine cabinet.  There were rumors about Finley and we know about Palmeiro.   There are other guys who gained power.   Kirby Puckett is a pretty good example.

I don't like lazy comps, but I think Markakis is a pretty damn good one. They're different types of outfielders, but seem to be similar hitters.

[Ruzious]

49 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

I don't like lazy comps, but I think Markakis is a pretty damn good one. They're different types of outfielders, but seem to be similar hitters.

At the same age, Nick hit 15 homers, 3 triples, and 41 doubles between Frederick and Bowie - pretty much the same kind of hitter he was - year after year - in Baltimore.    

[LTO's]

I tend to think the FO is not overly concerned with what they see in the first 30ish games from their new draftees. Many of the 2019 draft picks had pretty mediocre to poor debuts and have dramatically improved at the higher levels. All of the healthy 2020 draft picks had good showings in 2021 too. Not to say Cowser had a bad debut in any way but I trust the FO to put him in a position to maximize his power potential as he progresses. 

[LookinUp]

48 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

At the same age, Nick hit 15 homers, 3 triples, and 41 doubles between Frederick and Bowie - pretty much the same kind of hitter he was - year after year - in Baltimore.    

Call me when we've seen a full season from Cowser. Covid changed age comps. You're aware of that.

[RZNJ]

17 hours ago, Ruzious said:

At the same age, Nick hit 15 homers, 3 triples, and 41 doubles between Frederick and Bowie - pretty much the same kind of hitter he was - year after year - in Baltimore.    

I think this kid has actually got more power than Nick but there's a big question as whether he'll be able to make the tweaks to his swing to tap into it and remain a plus hitter.

[Hazmat]

19 hours ago, LookinUp said:

I don't like lazy comps, but I think Markakis is a pretty damn good one. They're different types of outfielders, but seem to be similar hitters.

How about a Larry Bigbie that actually pans out?

[LookinUp]

17 minutes ago, Hazmat said:

How about a Larry Bigbie that actually pans out?

He has put together a decent little youth baseball program on the eastern shore. They're kind of second fiddle in that area, but a good program for sure.

[Frobby]

I always love hearing Matt Blood happy talk:

“This guy [Cowser] is phenomenal,” Blood said during the radio interview. “He is a big, strong, athletic kid with his head on straight. Very smart, very personable, hard worker and can hit. He can really hit. And he knows the strike zone, he uses the whole field and he’s got legit power and can play in the outfield, center field. So, this guy is the complete package, and honestly, the fact that we got him at No. 5 to me feels like a steal. This guy was our favorite guy in the draft, and he’s already shown kind of what he is and I have a lot of faith in this guy.”

Over 33 games between the two teams after the draft, Cowser, 21, batted .375/.490/.492/.982 with eight doubles, two homers, 30 runs, seven steals and 34 RBIs.

Blood was asked if Cowser could move fast on the O’s farm.

“I think so,” he said. “Like I said, he knows the strike zone. He’s got great feel to hit and he can play good defense. That’s usually a good combination to move. You saw Jordan Westburg play at three levels this year. It’s a similar deal. Jordan, highly mature kid, can hit and play defense and he moved all the way to Double-A. You could see Cowser on that similar trajectory next year.”

https://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2021/10/colton-cowser-posted-982-ops-in-first-pro-season.html

[ShoelesJoe]

When the Astros drafted 17 year old Carlos Correa with the top pick in 2012 a lot of the “experts” were left scratching their heads. The conventional wisdom was that he was really good prospect, but there were still 4-5 players that were better. Houston signed Correa at a discount and used the savings to grab Lance McCullers later in the draft, which most people believed was a smart move, but it was still assumed at the time that the team had deliberately not taken the best player at #1. Later on many within the Houston organization stated that Correa was always at the top of their draft charts, and the fact that he’d cost less to sign was a bonus. Whether that’s true or not the Correa pick looks like a genius move now. 
 

Will the Colton Cowser pick also be seen as a genius move a decade from now, for all the same reasons? When the Orioles chose him they passed over a bunch of prospects that all the experts said were better, but apparently Cowser was always #1 on their charts. The whole point of having a guy like Elias in charge is that he and his people can see value where others can’t. He was vindicated in Houston when Correa turned out to be a more valuable player than the draft prospects who were ranked ahead of him. Wouldn’t it be sweet if the Cowser pick show similar vindication down the road? 

[Tony-OH]

On 10/10/2021 at 4:04 PM, Frobby said:

I always love hearing Matt Blood happy talk:

“This guy [Cowser] is phenomenal,” Blood said during the radio interview. “He is a big, strong, athletic kid with his head on straight. Very smart, very personable, hard worker and can hit. He can really hit. And he knows the strike zone, he uses the whole field and he’s got legit power and can play in the outfield, center field. So, this guy is the complete package, and honestly, the fact that we got him at No. 5 to me feels like a steal. This guy was our favorite guy in the draft, and he’s already shown kind of what he is and I have a lot of faith in this guy.”

Over 33 games between the two teams after the draft, Cowser, 21, batted .375/.490/.492/.982 with eight doubles, two homers, 30 runs, seven steals and 34 RBIs.

Blood was asked if Cowser could move fast on the O’s farm.

“I think so,” he said. “Like I said, he knows the strike zone. He’s got great feel to hit and he can play good defense. That’s usually a good combination to move. You saw Jordan Westburg play at three levels this year. It’s a similar deal. Jordan, highly mature kid, can hit and play defense and he moved all the way to Double-A. You could see Cowser on that similar trajectory next year.”

https://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2021/10/colton-cowser-posted-982-ops-in-first-pro-season.html

So you like hearing pure unadulterated propaganda? 

To each is own.

[Frobby]

10 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

So you like hearing pure unadulterated propaganda? 

To each is own.

I look at it this way: I would not expect a farm director to say negative things about his players in public.   Obviously you don’t want him to go so far in the other direction that it’s unrealistic, but if Blood is genuinely enthusiastic about a player, let’s hear it.    I do think these comments were a bit over the top, but I also believe they are genuinely very excited about Cowser.   

[sportsfan8703]

59 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I look at it this way: I would not expect a farm director to say negative things about his players in public.   Obviously you don’t want him to go so far in the other direction that it’s unrealistic, but if Blood is genuinely enthusiastic about a player, let’s hear it.    I do think these comments were a bit over the top, but I also believe they are genuinely very excited about Cowser.   

What makes me feel the best is the three level comment. He could’ve gushed and not said that. The question is are those three levels Aberdeen, Bowie, and Norfolk?  He could be on the Stowers trajectory.