Colton Cowser 2022

[sportsfan8703]

7 minutes ago, LTO's said:

I think making any proclamations about what decisions were right or wrong at this stage is foolish. It's certainly preferable when HS guys reach A ball and tear it up, but at the same time, the level of play there is an absolute joke now with the minor league contraction. The jump from A to Hi-A is big nowadays so until a guy gets up there puts up a decent sample of ABs I'm not all that interested. 

In Cowser's case, I'm surprised/disappointed the BA is so low but a .400 OBP and an OPS in the upper .700s isn't the colossal failure that some think it is. Also, development isn't always completely linear. Henderson is a great example of that. Mash A ball, come up to ABD and get humbled a little and then get to a level higher than that and really take off.  We will see how the rest of the year plays out. 

Yeah but the .400 OBP won’t be there at the upper levels because pitchers will attack him more with their better stuff. 
 

I’m hoping that he is “developing” and the org, and Cowser, is willing to sacrifice some AVG to try and tap into power. That’s how you unlock a star. Why rush a singles hitter through the minors just so he can throw up a .700 OPS in RF?

[RZNJ]

The one thing we can hang our hats on is this.   There is no way the hitter at Delmarva could be putting up these numbers unless he suddenly needed glasses or was tinkering with his swing.    We've seen tidbits stating he was working on some things based on the analytics he was given regarding his swing.   It's hard to believe that he could have so much trouble making contact while trying to make those changes but there really is no other reasonable explanation.

[Absltgreek]

53 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

The one thing we can hang our hats on is this.   There is no way the hitter at Delmarva could be putting up these numbers unless he suddenly needed glasses or was tinkering with his swing.    We've seen tidbits stating he was working on some things based on the analytics he was given regarding his swing.   It's hard to believe that he could have so much trouble making contact while trying to make those changes but there really is no other reasonable explanation.

Jon Meoli said as much in his Newsletter yesterday, re: Cowser, without quoting the whole thing (as it's paid and all):

"Cowser said he was focused on one zone and striking out as a result..."

"I felt like I was trying to do, not do too much, but I was really honing in on one specific pitch and I was taking a lot of pitches on the corners. That’s not something I would normally have done, I usually hit it where it’s pitched. I’m starting to get back to that now.”

"Cowser said finding the balance between being himself and being a hitter in the Orioles’ mold is “something that I’m learning to do."

"Instead of chasing home runs, Cowser’s goals for the rest of the season are simple. He wants to close the walk-to-strikeout rate back up, and his May is going a long way to that end"

[Sports Guy]

1 hour ago, RZNJ said:

The one thing we can hang our hats on is this.   There is no way the hitter at Delmarva could be putting up these numbers unless he suddenly needed glasses or was tinkering with his swing.    We've seen tidbits stating he was working on some things based on the analytics he was given regarding his swing.   It's hard to believe that he could have so much trouble making contact while trying to make those changes but there really is no other reasonable explanation.

Discussing this on Twitter..I think we are starting to see a problem here.  I wasn’t worried a few weeks ago but I think the concerns have to be starting (or growing depending on where you were before).

He has a 374 BABiP, so it’s not like he’s hitting into a ton of bad luck.  
 

It being pointed out to me that he has a 119 wRC+ but my thing is that is driven almost entirely by an OBP that is not sustainable if he doesn’t start showing more power and BA.  He will just start to get challenged more and more and the walks won’t be there.

Now, what adjustments is he making?  Why is he missing the ball? Is he struggling to hit hittable pitches?  Can he not catch up to fastballs?

He is an advanced college bat who shouldn’t have to be doing tons of adjustments at A ball.  So, what is going on?  That’s what I would like to know.  Is there a valid reason for this?  Because “adjusting” isn’t good enough for me because of his age, pedigree and level he is playing.

[RZNJ]

2 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Discussing this on Twitter..I think we are starting to see a problem here.  I wasn’t worried a few weeks ago but I think the concerns have to be starting (or growing depending on where you were before).

He has a 374 BABiP, so it’s not like he’s hitting into a ton of bad luck.  
 

It being pointed out to me that he has a 119 wRC+ but my thing is that is driven almost entirely by an OBP that is not sustainable if he doesn’t start showing more power and BA.  He will just start to get challenged more and more and the walks won’t be there.

Now, what adjustments is he making?  Why is he missing the ball? Is he struggling to hit hittable pitches?  Can he not catch up to fastballs?

He is an advanced college bat who shouldn’t have to be doing tons of adjustments at A ball.  So, what is going on?  That’s what I would like to know.  Is there a valid reason for this?  Because “adjusting” isn’t good enough for me because of his age, pedigree and level he is playing.

If you put 2+2 it sound like he was pointed out some minor adjustments he could make to potentially (just guessing here) a) generate more bat speed or b) create more leverage or c) create more loft or d) all of the above.   Cowser himself says that a few things were pointed out to him, nothing major and he was attempting to incorporate them.

[RZNJ]

His May didn't do much to close the gap.  I think he struck out a ton in May but I'm curious to see what June looks like.   As I said, he didn't strike out the last two games.  It will be interesting to track his next 7-10 games.

[Sports Guy]

He obviously can turn things around and quickly.  But he hasn’t been good. You can talk all the adjustments you want but at the end of the day, he has no business struggling this bad at this point of the season.

His OpS was actually worse in May vs April.

[Ohfan67]

Cowser's season is definitely reaching the "very alarming" stage. When Kyle Stowers was unproductive there were several positives that provided hope that it was a bit of bad luck and mainly a SSS issue. There are significantly fewer positives to find in Cowser's performance. Like all of you, I am hoping he turns it around ASAP. 

[Sports Guy]

BA just released its new top 100..Orioles have 4 players on it..Cowser is not one of them.

[maybenxtyr]

6 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

BA just released its new top 100..Orioles have 4 players on it..Cowser is not one of them.

4 players in the top 100 this long into the rebuild seems like a small number to me. Without paying for BA I'm going to assume that one of them is Adley? Not sure if how quickly they fall off of the list after being promoted.

[Frobby]

Just now, maybenxtyr said:

4 players in the top 100 this long into the rebuild seems like a small number to me. Without paying for BA I'm going to assume that one of them is Adley? Not sure if how quickly they fall off of the list after being promoted.

Usually after 45 days of service, which means they won’t be considered a rookie next year even if sent back to the minors.  

[RZNJ]

9 minutes ago, maybenxtyr said:

4 players in the top 100 this long into the rebuild seems like a small number to me. Without paying for BA I'm going to assume that one of them is Adley? Not sure if how quickly they fall off of the list after being promoted.

While it's more fun to have more guys than not on the list, the lists are not that meaningful.   As you can see, a bad 2 months has dropped Cowser off the list.   How about Austin Martin?   Is he still hanging on there?   I can look myself.    I still feel good about 1. Rutschman, 2. Rodgiguez,  3. Henderson, 4. Hall, 5. Stowers, 6. Westburg and 7.  Mayo.

Obviously, probably the first 4 are on there and then next 3 are not.   The funny thing is, a few hot weeks or month will but those 3 right up there.   I feel that all 5-7 are that type of prospect but performance means a lot and Mayo and Westburg in particular have the low batting averages right now.

[Ripken]

I was very against the Kjerstad and Cowser picks.  So far, despite praying Elias got it right, those two have done nothing to be hopeful about.  There is still time for them both but the clock is ticking and the pressure is mounting for this year.  Elias really can't waste three straight, extremely high first round picks.

[btdart20]

I believe the team/he was trying to tap into some extra power to expand his ceiling while trusting his bat-to-ball hit tool to do the rest.  Times of change always has a risk of failure.  

Per Meoli above, it sounds like Cowser's tossing those adjustments and basically admitting defeat in applying those changes.  (I wonder if it's a club decision or a player decision?)  Expecting/hoping to see less K's and more hits over the ROS.

[Sports Guy]

32 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

While it's more fun to have more guys than not on the list, the lists are not that meaningful.   As you can see, a bad 2 months has dropped Cowser off the list.   How about Austin Martin?   Is he still hanging on there?   I can look myself.    I still feel good about 1. Rutschman, 2. Rodgiguez,  3. Henderson, 4. Hall, 5. Stowers, 6. Westburg and 7.  Mayo.

Obviously, probably the first 4 are on there and then next 3 are not.   The funny thing is, a few hot weeks or month will but those 3 right up there.   I feel that all 5-7 are that type of prospect but performance means a lot and Mayo and Westburg in particular have the low batting averages right now.

I saw the list of the Os players on Twitter.  Someone in the comments said Mayo was the next ranked Os player but not in the top 100.

Not sure if that was accurate but it makes sense to me.