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Colton Cowser is a leading contender for American League Rookie of the Year honors, and his power numbers are among the reasons why. The 24-year-old Baltimore Orioles outfielder has 20 home runs to go with a .240/.321/.431 slash line and a 115 wRC+. San Diego’s Jackson Merrill (23) is the only rookie in either league to have left the yard more times.
That Cowser is clearing fences with some regularity is in many ways unsurprising. At a listed 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, his build is that of a basher. That said, his profile going forward wasn’t entirely clear when he was first featured here at FanGraphs in February 2022. Drafted fifth overall the previous summer out of Sam Houston State University, Cowser had propelled just a pair of baseballs over outfield barriers in 149 low-level plate appearances. Moreover, as I related to him in our offseason conversation, Baseball America had recently cited his “impressive walk-to-strikeout ratio,” adding that his swing path is “presently more geared toward contact versus power.”
The numbers suggest that Cowser is no longer the same style of hitter. After having more free passes than Ks in college and in his first taste of professional action, the left-handed-swinging slugger has fanned a team-worst 157 times this season with a 30.5% strikeout rate and a 9.5% walk rate. He’s also hitting more balls in the air, as evidenced by his 38.2 FB%. That number was just 26.9 in his two-plus years down on the farm.
Cowser’s thoughts on making less contact as he settles in to what promises to be a productive MLB career?
“I’d like to still be bat-to-ball,” Cowser told me last week when the Orioles visited Fenway Park. “But I also like to take my chances every once in awhile. I don’t think I’ve necessarily tried to change anything, it’s more that some adjustments have happened here and there.”
Asked to elaborate, Cowser explained that he is getting into his legs better — “that allows for more adjustability” — and isn’t as tall in his stance. Another meaningful tweak, which came over the offseason, has been where he positions his hands.
“They would kind of get stuck back here,” said Cowser, imaginarily gripping a bat with his hands toward the back of his left shoulder. “We made it a point to try to keep them in front of me. I guess technically that was a swing change, but I didn’t really feel like it was. But yeah, I think the big thing was keeping my hands in a consistent position. That’s helped allow me to sync up my legs and my upper body.”
Which brings us back to his increased strikeout numbers. Increased power is an obvious plus, but is he concerned with…
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