Within the aftermath of their elimination by the hands of the Royals, the Orioles introduced that rookie outfielder Colton Cowser broke his left hand. There’s no indication the harm would require surgical procedure, nevertheless it might have some degree of influence on Cowser’s offseason.
The harm occurred on some of the consequential performs of tonight’s loss. The lefty-hitting outfielder got here up in opposition to Ok.C. reliever Angel Zerpa with the bases loaded and one out in a 1-1 sport within the backside of the fifth. On a 1-2 rely, Zerpa threw a 97 MPH fastball nicely up and in. Cowser nonetheless swung on the pitch, which struck him in his prime hand (video hyperlink). He was known as out on strikes and Zerpa escaped the inning when he received Adley Rutschman to floor out. Kansas Metropolis scored within the subsequent half-inning and would maintain on for a 2-1 victory.
Baltimore scored simply as soon as (on a Cedric Mullins residence run) within the two-game sweep. It’s clearly not the best way Coswer or the crew needed to finish the 12 months, although the previous fifth total decide had a formidable exhibiting total. Cowser hit 24 homers with a .242/.321/.447 slash over 561 plate appearances. He’ll very seemingly be a finalist in AL Rookie of the 12 months balloting.
Cowser proved himself to be a reliable energy risk, although he fanned in additional than 30% of his plate appearances. The quantity of swing-and-miss in his sport has at all times been the largest query mark. He’ll must make extra constant contact to change into an elite hitter, however the energy and robust protection in left area already make him on a regular basis participant.
The O’s could possibly be in for a shakeup within the outfield. Anthony Santander is just a few weeks from free company. He’ll obtain and reject a qualifying supply on the heels of his 44-homer marketing campaign. If Santander walks, the O’s might plug Heston Kjerstad into the nook reverse Cowser. Baltimore reportedly thought-about dealing Mullins this previous summer time. The previous All-Star heart fielder was mired in a months-long stoop on the time, however he discovered his stride with a .266/.374/.457 line within the second half. Mullins is headed into his ultimate season of arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting an $8.7MM wage.
