Colton Cowser's early struggles are already forcing Orioles fans to adjust their outlook

It's been a struggle to start the 2026 season for Baltimore Orioles center fielder Colton Cowser. He has twice as many strikeouts as hits, a single extra-base hit, and he's been worth -0.2 WAR. The numbers are horrendous, but history would suggest there's reason to believe he could turn the corner.

Cowser has always struggled against offspeed, but in the past, he could be counted on to punish fastballs and command the zone. This year, even fastballs elude him. Last week, in what should have been a favorable matchup with Gavin Williams, Williams was able to dominate Cowser with nothing but a series of well-placed fastballs.

It wasn't just against Williams that Cowser has looked confused. He's driven fans nuts by how often he's chasing offspeed pitches outside the zone and then watching fastballs pumped right down the middle.

The phrase typically used to describe this kind of struggle is "being in between." He's been trying so hard to hit offspeed, which he's not good at, that he has fallen behind on the fastball and now can't hit that either.

Being "in between" is ugly; it results in at-bats that are downright embarrassing, but it's not forever. Cowser is going to figure out how to hit a fastball again, and when he does, he'll go on a two-week tear before pitchers adjust to the fact that they can't beat him with their fastball anymore.

Colton Cowser's expectations should be shifted

There is no promise that he'll ever be able to hit offspeed, and the fact that, in his effort to figure it out, he's ended up being unable to hit anything at all does not bode well for the future. Cowser may never be the middle-of-the-order bat that he was ticketed to be as a prospect, but the version of Cowser who plays good defense and bats at the bottom of the order and hits a fastball over the fence once a week or so can be a valuable player.

During Cowser's rookie season, in which he finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting, he slashed .303/.372/.632 in the first month, then .188/.305/.275 in the following month. In 2025, he hit .250/.310/.550 in his first real month of playing time, then hit .210/.281/.309 in the very next month. That's just kind of how it is with him. When he's on, he looks like Kyle Schwarber, and when he's off, he looks like he should be in the minors

This year, instead of starting with the heater and slumping, Cowser is starting with the slump, and the heater hopefully arrives later this season.

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