Can someone tell me what Cowser needs to do better?

[Malike]

3 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

But they are winning. Again, this was the argument people have used for Frazier all year..why mess up what’s working? If they are winning, who cares?

 

They were also winning with Mateo at SS. It doesn't stop people from wondering why you run a guy out there with an OPS+ of 25 who hasn't shown a single flash of anything really with the bat or in the field. His only extra-base hit was thanks to Schwarber being in LF that day.

I want him to get reps every day, he's not going to get better if he's sitting on the bench. I also don't think we're going to hit on every single prospect we bring up and some will likely bust, he might, who knows? He's shown very little.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Malike

[Tony-OH]

The Orioles are 13-4 in games where Cowser has played so I think that allows his slow start to be minimized. Right now, with both Mullins and Hicks on the IL, Cowser is not going anywhere unless the Orioles pick up a major league CF option at the trade deadline.

Cowser has needed to adjust to every level he's played at so it's not surprising he's having the same adjustment at the big-league level. His bat will come around.

As for his defense, there's a reason I kept saying his going to end up as a corner outfielder and his statcast data so far has shown that to be true. He's not going to kill the team in CF but he will end up a slightly below average CFer because of his jumps and routes and I do believe his 61 percentile speed will continue to decrease a bit.

Overall, he's going split CF with McKenna until Hicks is healthy at the very least and hopefully his bat will begin to wake up a bit. 

 

[Jagwar]

4 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

But they are winning. Again, this was the argument people have used for Frazier all year..why mess up what’s working? If they are winning, who cares?

 

I suppose it's a matter of sustainability. Are they starters going to maintain a sub-4 ERA the rest of the year? And are the current run producers going to slump while Cowser and Westburg are still adjusting? 

I'm not saying it SHOULD happen, but I wouldn't be surprised if Elias swaps Kjerstad for Cowser during August. 

[Jagwar]

I said that it would only be if Mullins came back. Hays can back him up if necessary. If Mullins gets hurt again, then bring Cowser back. 

I'm not advocating for the swap, just wouldn't be surprised if it happens. 

[banks703]

8 minutes ago, Jagwar said:

I said that it would only be if Mullins came back. Hays can back him up if necessary. If Mullins gets hurt again, then bring Cowser back. 

I'm not advocating for the swap, just wouldn't be surprised if it happens. 

I’d say there’s a higher likelihood of Jackson Holliday being promoted to Baltimore this year than there is of Kjerstad. The O’s just aren’t going to burn the three weeks of development time with Cowser (who by the way is the higher regarded prospect literally everywhere) for Kjerstad who is also going to take time to acclimate. If anything with Hicks and Ced return they may keep McKenna over Cowser but I think that’d be a mistake. 

[Os4days]

I said this in a previous post but Cowser continues to look overmatched right now. Sure he might come around but cmon, batting .114 in 44 abs and only one extra base hit is simply not acceptable even for a rookie plus his defense isn’t helping his cause to be an everyday player. 
 

I saw his interview after his first game in the majors and he seemed happy just to be in the bigs. Just spitting this out but I’m not sure his work ethics are there. I contrast him with Westburg who comes across very serious like and I hear how he works hard at his craft. 
 

I just don’t get all of you guys predicting he will be Gunnar like and will at some point turn it around. There are thousands of highly regarded prospects in baseball that simply turn out to be a bust or an average player. 

[Hank Scorpio]

4 minutes ago, Os4days said:

I said this in a previous post but Cowser continues to look overmatched right now. Sure he might come around but cmon, batting .114 in 44 abs and only one extra base hit is simply not acceptable even for a rookie plus his defense isn’t helping his cause to be an everyday player. 
 

I saw his interview after his first game in the majors and he seemed happy just to be in the bigs. Just spitting this out but I’m not sure his work ethics are there. I contrast him with Westburg who comes across very serious like and I hear how he works hard at his craft. 
 

I just don’t get all of you guys predicting he will be Gunnar like and will at some point turn it around. There are thousands of highly regarded prospects in baseball that simply turn out to be a bust or an average player. 

One of the biggest things that sinks the players you’re referring to is the lack of knowledge or command of the strike zone. 

Cowser’s struggles are no different than a lot of guys’… he will adjust and get more aggressive. If he was 6-44 with 24K’s and 2BB I’d be a lot more concerned.

[Os4days]

5 minutes ago, Hank Scorpio said:

One of the biggest things that sinks the players you’re referring to is the lack of knowledge or command of the strike zone. 

Cowser’s struggles are no different than a lot of guys’… he will adjust and get more aggressive. If he was 6-44 with 24K’s and 2BB I’d be a lot more concerned.

I agree with you but again I refer to Cowser and his work ethics toward getting better. You could and still see that with Gunnar. I like how he is hard on himself after a bad AB. Sometimes he pounds the bat into the ground because he knew he missed an opportunity. I’m not sure I see that kind of fire with Cowser. 
 

With the uncertainty of Ced and Hicks for the remainder of the season, I sure hope we go and get an outfielder with some pop and experience in the majors. 

[Malike]

Cowser isn't hitting fastballs, either. I think that is the most odd thing to me. He's slugging .053 on fastballs with a 23% Whiff and a 21.1% PutAway %. I could see if he's getting eaten up by sliders or changeups but he's not hitting the fastball at all.

[Os4days]

9 minutes ago, Malike said:

Cowser isn't hitting fastballs, either. I think that is the most odd thing to me. He's slugging .053 on fastballs with a 23% Whiff and a 21.1% PutAway %. I could see if he's getting eaten up by sliders or changeups but he's not hitting the fastball at all.

Thanks for this stat. It reinforces my statement that he looks overmatched. I simply look at the eye test and he just doesn’t look comfortable at the plate. Weak swings, no confidence, and looks confused. Again, is he just content to be in the bigs?

[emmett16]

Cowser was batting ~.130 & OPSing ~.500 after his first 44 ABs in AAA.   I’ll continue to be patient. 

[Rbiggs2525]

He has gone through murderers row of pitching staffs too. I will continue to be patient.

[Malike]

16 minutes ago, emmett16 said:

Cowser was batting ~.130 & OPSing ~.500 after his first 44 ABs in AAA.   I’ll continue to be patient. 

I don't think the point of the discussion is not to be patient, it's whats going on and it's just being pointed out here, stat wise.

[Malike]

19 minutes ago, Rbiggs2525 said:

He has gone through murderers row of pitching staffs too. I will continue to be patient.

Welcome to the big leagues. They can all pitch.

[emmett16]

41 minutes ago, Malike said:

I don't think the point of the discussion is not to be patient, it's whats going on and it's just being pointed out here, stat wise.

He stinks right now.  My point is, that’s to be expected.  It sure isn’t fun to watch, but to call it anything else than adjusting to a new league seems silly to me.