Colton Cowser

From BR Bullpen

Colton Dale Cowser
(The Milkman)

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Biographical Information[edit]

Outfielder Colton Cowser was the fifth overall selection of the 2021 amateur draft by the Baltimore Orioles out of Sam Houston State University. He was the highest draft pick in the school's history. He began his pro career that same year with the FCL Orioles Orange before graduating to the Delmarva Shorebirds. He hit .375 in 32 games between the two stops.

In 2022, he appeared at three different levels, starting with the Aberdeen IronBirds of the South Atlantic League, them moving up to the Bowie BaySox of the Eastern League and finally the Norfolk Tides of the International League. He played a total of 139 games and hit .278 with 19 homers and 66 RBIs. He made his major league debut with the Orioles during the 2023 season, but spent most of the year at Norfolk, where he hit .300 in 87 games with 17 homers and 62 RBIs. On September 30th, he was named the MVP of the Triple-A National Championship played against the Oklahoma City Dodgers of the Pacific Coast League. He hit a 450-foot grand slam with his team down, 2-1, in the 7th to lead Norfolk to a 7-6 win. In the majors, he hit just .115 in 26 games, with no homers and 4 RBIs.

With the Orioles loaded with outstanding young players, he had a tough fight ahead of him in spring training in 2024, with other top prospects like OF Heston Kjerstad and IFs Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo vying for in essence one job as a back-up on the major league team. He won the job by batting .304 with 6 homers in 18 games, as all four performed well. The question was whether he would find enough at-bats to continue to produce, and at first he was an issue as he appeared in his team's first four games, but had only 3 at-bats in that span. He began getting more playing time at the start of April and on April 15th was named the American League Player of the Week for the previous week after going 9 for 20 with 4 doubles and 3 homers, driving in 11 runs in 5 games. This was at a time when Holliday, the first overall pick in the 2023 amateur draft was grabbing all the headlines just for making his big league debut. While Holliday struggled and was sent back to AAA before the end of the month, Colton was named the American League Rookie of the Month for April on the strength of a .304 average and 6 homers with an OPS over 1.000. He was given the nickname "the Milkman" by fans, as a play on his last name, and they started mooing whenever he did something worthy of celebration; a special section of the bleachers at Camden Yards, called "The Pasture" was also inaugurated where fans are encouraged to wear cow-themed or milkman-themed gear.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Jake Rill: "Orioles call up their No. 2 prospect Cowser", mlb.com, July 5, 2023. [1]
  • Jake Rill: "'The Pasture': Cowser's fan section to bring 'moos' to Camden Yards", mlb.com, May 8, 2024. [2]

Related Sites[edit]

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