It was an impressive freshman season that included Gold Glove and Rookie of the Year consideration.
Never was there a player more destined to be dubbed a “fan favorite” than Colton Cowser. The on-field ability, the personality, and the pun-worthy last name. It’s all there to craft the perfect example of a locally-adored baseball player, even if the results can be somewhat frustrating.
Back in the spring, though, Cowser wasn’t even guaranteed a spot on the major league roster. The 24-year-old had a lot to prove after significant struggles during his first big league stint in 2023. In that 26-game cameo, Cowser hit .115/.286/.148. It was brutal, and it did not give him the best launch pad for 2024.
Nevertheless, Cowser ended up impressing in the Grapefruit League. Across 18 games he had six home runs and posted a .418 on-base percentage. He made the O’s Opening Day roster ahead of Kyle Stowers and Ryan McKenna.
It was clear early on that the Orioles were not intending to just hand Cowser an everyday role. He didn’t get a start until the team’s fifth game of the season. But he was excelling in this reserve role. Across the team’s first eight games, Cowser was 5-for-11. That coincided with Austin Hays badly scuffling, going 2-for-26 to begin the year. The organization leaned into what was working, and Cowser was given an extended look in left field.
Over the two weeks that followed, Cowser performed like one of the best hitters in the league. He hit .341/.388/.841 with six home runs, four doubles, and 16 RBI, while throwing three stolen bases in for fun. On top of that, he looked the part in the outfield, moving well and making a couple of nice plays.
A dry spell followed. From late April through the end of May, Cowser put together a .178/.306/.257 line with 34 strikeouts and just one home run. This looked a lot like what Cowser did in 2023. He was whiffing a lot, but still managed to walk at a decent clip.
This time, however, the Orioles did not ship him back to Norfolk. It would not have made much sense if they had. Hays was on the IL at time, and at least Cowser continued with his impressive defense. The storm would need to be weathered.
In June, Cowser began to share left field with Hays a bit more often as he worked through his struggles. The results were uneven as his batting average remained low (.182) and his on-base percentage dipped as well (.250), but he regained his power to a degree with five home runs and a .429 slugging percentage.
Things started to click again for Cowser in mid-July. From July 13 through August 4, the rookie took left field for himself. Over 19 games in that span he hit .380/.444/.592 with four home runs, 15 RBI, nine walks, and 21 strikeouts. For a while, Brandon Hyde elevated the hot-hitting outfield to the lead-off spot.
That run of form seemed to give Mike Elias and the Orioles front office the confidence to move on from Hays altogether. He was dealt to the Phillies at the deadline, signifying that the Cowser era of the organization was in full swing.
Cowser turned in some passable offensive performances through the end of the season. From August 6 on he had a .224/.294/.415 line with eight home runs and 17 walks. That’s a .719 OPS, but his strikeouts ballooned to 67 in that 48-game span.
Then there is the Wild Card series against the Royals. Cowser went 1-for-7 with three strikeouts, including a crucial punch-out that came with the bases loaded on a pitch that hit Cowser and fractured his wrist. It was a frustrating conclusion to an up-and-down season that showed promise alongside some worrying signs.
A scan of Cowser’s Baseball Savant page reveals a lot of positives. Most notably, he hits the ball quite hard, and barrels up pitches with regularity. On top of that, he is aware of the strike zone, limiting his chases and taking walks at an above-average clip.
The downside is that Cowser whiffs (and therefore, strikes out) a lot! That drives down his batting average and limits his overall offensive output. But the Orioles will take that if his 2024 season is just the beginning of his potential.
He ended the season with 24 home runs, a .768 OPS, and 120 wRC+. That’s good for anybody, but it is quite impressive for a rookie that struggled through multiple prolonged slumps. Just a skosh of improvement would put him into all-star consideration.
There is reason to believe Cowser could cut down on his strikeouts just a touch. His 30.7% strikeout rate in 2024 is the highest he has posted at any level ever. He had a 30.6% strikeout rate in Norfolk in 2022, but then improved to 26.8% in 2023. That’s a still a high number, but it is a significant decline, and it came with big bumps in all of his other batting numbers. Similar growth in 2025 would be huge.
There is also some room for growth in the walks department. He walked 9.3% of the time in 2024, a decent number, but far lower than his 16.9% walk rate with the Orioles and 16% with the Tides a season earlier. Obviously, the non-walk results in 2023 were not ideal, and walking is not always a total positive as it comes with an opportunity cost of not swinging the bat. The Orioles probably don’t want him back at 16%, but another point or two of walk rate as he learns would be welcome.
As mentioned earlier, Cowser is a multi-dimensional player. His value is not entirely tied to his bat. In fact, he is already considered one of the league’s best outfield defenders. Good enough to be a finalist for a Gold Glove, and there is more than enough data to suggest he should have taken home the award in 2024.
Among left fielders, Cowser led the way with 10 fielding runs and eight outs above average, and he boasts one of the strongest throwing arms in the sport. He does all of this while patrolling one of the largest left fields in MLB for half of his games. While you can argue about Cowser’s offensive game, there is little doubt about his defense. He is a stud out there.
Finally, let’s talk base running a bit. This is another area where Cowser is sneaky good. He brings above-average sprint speed at 28.2 feet per second. That is right behind Cedric Mullins. And he was worth two runner runs, second on the Orioles behind Gunnar Henderson (3), one of the top baserunners in the entire sport. Cowser is not as fast or aggressive as Henderson, but he largely makes smart choices on the bases and provides additional value.
So, where does that leave Cowser? His overall offensive output is solid. He offers power and has an ability to work a walk. He needs to cut down on the whiffs a bit, something that should come with experience. All signs in the field point to a perennial Gold Glove contender, a huge benefit for an O’s team that now plays in a stadium with wonky dimensions and hopes to court top-level starting pitching in the near future.
It’s unclear if Cowser will be named Rookie of the Year in the AL. He faces stiff competition from Luis Gil and Austin Wells, among others. But the fact that he will be in consideration is impressive given how much he struggled in ‘23, and the fact that he was the Orioles rookie to shine rather than Jackson Holliday.
Cowser is not in the Henderson stratosphere of being a bonafide star just yet, and so he probably is not under consideration for a long-term extension at this time. But he does a lot of things really well, and this season catapulted him from the fringes of the big league roster to being one of the first names that Hyde pencils into the lineup every day. That is a huge asset, and it’s one that is under team control for a long time to come.
The Orioles will hope to see him maintain his upward trend in 2025. But it would surprise no one if he continues a winding path—particularly at the plate—that sometimes leaves us scratching our heads. After all, he is a goofball, but he’s our goofball.
Previous 2024 player reviews: Keegan Akin, Cionel Pérez, Cole Irvin, Ryan O’Hearn, Craig Kimbrel, Cade Povich, midseason position player acquisitions, Jackson Holliday, injured starting pitchers, James McCann, midseason pitching acquisitions, Jorge Mateo, Yennier Cano, Dean Kremer, Albert Suárez, Ryan Mountcastle, Anthony Santander, Jacob Webb, Grayson Rodriguez, Ramón Urías, Danny Coulombe, Adley Rutschman, Zach Eflin, Cedric Mullins
Tomorrow: Corbin Burnes