TT: It's time to bring up Colton Cowser

[Hank Scorpio]

21 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I think Cowser profiles as a better overall hitter though. More walks, better average.

 

28 minutes ago, Pickles said:

I think he's a bit of a cautionary tale in general about the prospects.

Just because you've put up a 900 OPS in AAA for 400 ABs means you're going to come up and be better than major league regulars, especially right away.

There's no guarantee Cowser is better than Hays or Santander and taking ABs from them could make the team worst.

The same is true of Westburg and Frazier.

 

22 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

In the end it’s about whose skills and approach and swing translate better to the majors.  Stowers has long levers and looks like he gets tied up rather easily. He’s also an extreme back foot hitter.  He really leans back with all his weight and lets his upper cut swing go.   He doesn’t seem to have good barrel awareness.   Rutschman is similar in the back foot and upper cut parts but he has a more compact swing and makes much better swing decisions.
 

Cowser may have issues with off speed but the swing is beautiful, balanced, and direct.    
 

The stats might be similar but I don’t think they are.
 

 

 

21 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I think Cowser profiles as a better overall hitter though. More walks, better average.

Agree with most of this. Cowser has a much more balanced swing and he is on a serious heater right now. 

All I'm saying is that so was Stowers when they brought him up, and yes, their mil statistics are very similar. Cowser doing it at a younger age a notable exception.

One thing I wonder is will Cowser get more opportunities vs. lefties. That would be interesting to me. 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Hank Scorpio

[Pickles]

1 minute ago, Hank Scorpio said:

 

 

 

Agree with most of this. Cowser has a much more balanced swing and he is on a serious heater right now. 

All I'm saying is that so was Stowers when they brought him up, and yes, their mil statistics are very similar. Cowser doing it at a younger age a notable exception.

One thing I wonder is will Cowser get more opportunities vs. lefties. That would be interesting to me. 

Cowser definitely a better prospect.  Anyone arguing against that is generally swimming against the tide.

[Sports Guy]

1 minute ago, Pickles said:

Cowser definitely a better prospect.  Anyone arguing against that is generally swimming against the tide.

He is..but I do wonder how much better of an offensive prospect he is?

I think defense vaults him ahead of Stowers, especially if he can handle CF.

But what about only with the bat?  I think Cowser is the better offensive prospect but the question is, by how much?  I think that’s a fair question to ask.

My guess is Stowers has more power upside and Cowser is better at everything else.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

Well said. The McCann DH stuff definitely can end.

The team is 5-0 when he DH’s and he has an .824 OPS in that role, so my guess is McCann will continue to DH fairly often when we face a LHP, until that strategy stops working.  

[Pickles]

1 minute ago, Sports Guy said:

He is..but I do wonder how much better of an offensive prospect he is?

I think defense vaults him ahead of Stowers, especially if he can handle CF.

But what about only with the bat?  I think Cowser is the better offensive prospect but the question is, by how much?  I think that’s a fair question to ask.

My guess is Stowers has more power upside and Cowser is better at everything else.

Cowser definitely has the pedigree as well.

Cowser isn't the same guy they drafted in many ways.  Less bat to balls, more Ks, more power, and better defense.

It's an evolving profile.

[Sports Guy]

7 minutes ago, Frobby said:

The team is 5-0 when he DH’s and he has an .824 OPS in that role, so my guess is McCann will continue to DH fairly often when we face a LHP, until that strategy stops working.  

Lol. 5 games are such an impressive sample size. Did Wildcard steal your sign in credentials?
 

FG has him at a sub 600 OPS vs lefties and he was sub 400 last year.

Edited May 15, 2023 by Sports Guy

[Sports Guy]

3 minutes ago, Pickles said:

Cowser definitely has the pedigree as well.

Cowser isn't the same guy they drafted in many ways.  Less bat to balls, more Ks, more power, and better defense.

It's an evolving profile.

Yea, the Markakis comp is completely out the window now, that’s for sure.

 

[Aristotelian]

1 hour ago, Gurgi said:

I think the Frazier signing was perhaps mostly about roster management.  To have an excuse not to bring certain guys up.  We are a cheap team and probably most of these decisions come down to long term finances.  Getting extra years of control.

That is a cynical take. You may not be wrong, but I think it was also about risk management. Going into the year, a lot of folks were getting down on Cowser after he put up a "meh" .767 after his promotion last year. As a point of reference, here is Tony's #8 ranking of Cowser: 

Westburg's .869 was good but not elite. You hope he is going to be a 1.000 masher, but slipping 130 points the other way is within the realm of possibility. Same with Ortiz (over .900 in a small AAA sample but below .800 in larger AA sample). Even if they perform well to get promoted, they could struggle in MLB like Stowers, Gunnar, and even Adley when he was first called up. Admittedly, the odds of missing on all three guys is pretty low, but I can see Frazier as cheap insurance in case it happens. 

Frazier gave us a credible 2B/OF to cover any spots as long as is needed. If our prospects happened to struggle, all of a sudden Frazier would look like a solid investment in a year we are trying to win and can't mess around developing guys at the MLB level. 

[Frobby]

11 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Lol. 5 games are such an impressive sample size. Did Wildcard steal your sign in credentials?
 

FG has him at a sub 600 OPS vs lefties and he was sub 400 last year.

I didn’t say it will continue to work. I said the Orioles will probably continue doing it until it stops working. 

[sportsfan8703]

We might call up Daz Cameron tomorrow as a RH OF option and send down a reliever.  Especially with Mckenna banged up.  Then DFA/option Cameron for Cowser after the run of LH SP is over.  

[Sports Guy]

6 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I didn’t say it will continue to work. I said the Orioles will probably continue doing it until it stops working. 

Well, the record when he DH’s is obviously meaningless and has no correlation and if they are making decisions over 17 at bats, we have larger issues.

With all the talent at their disposal, McCann and his sub 600 OPS shouldn’t be on their minds as someone to get MORE at bats.

[Bemorewins]

2 hours ago, Pickles said:

This is true as well.  I could see a fairly major trade in July.  Now, will they ship out the young vets or the prospects, is the question.

I hope that the determining factor is whoever has the most value. I truly believe that we are one big starting pitching piece away from being able to enter into the serious championship conversation.

[SteveA]

10 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

We might call up Daz Cameron tomorrow as a RH OF option and send down a reliever.  Especially with Mckenna banged up.  Then DFA/option Cameron for Cowser after the run of LH SP is over.  

I have a feeling that we wouldn't have made the Stowers moved today if they didn't think McKenna's "banged-up" condition had gone away or at least eased significantly already.

[Bemorewins]

1 hour ago, maybenxtyr said:

SSS alert!!!but McKenna has a 125 OPS+ in a limited role. Not saying that's a reason to not bring up better players, but he's doing the job that he's been tasked to do.

That's fine and good. But when it comes to managing who gets the bulk of the ABs or who the org manages it's prospects, he should not be any sort of factor at all in those discussion. 4/5th outfielders don't win you World Series.

[Frobby]

3 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Well, the record when he DH’s is obviously meaningless and has no correlation and if they are making decisions over 17 at bats, we have larger issues.

With all the talent at their disposal, McCann and his sub 600 OPS shouldn’t be on their minds as someone to get MORE at bats.

McCann has a .361 xwOBA, and has only struck out 6 times in 56 PA.   From my point of view, watching the games, he’s swung the bat much better than his OPS indicates.  So yes, I’m expecting to see more of him at DH until that stops working.  Is it the choice I’d make?  Not necessarily.  But I’ll understand when they do it.