Colton Cowser struggles could force Orioles into bold outfield move

Colton Cowser has looked absolutely lost at the plate this season. His long-standing weakness of not being able to hit a changeup looks worse than ever, and now, on top of that, he's not hitting fastballs either. He's still playing really good defense in the outfield, but not such good defense that it balances out his sub-.500 OPS.

As Cowser's struggles have worsened, manager Craig Albernaz has dramatically throttled back his playing time. Cowser has only started four of the Orioles' last twelve games. Elias was recently asked if there was any consideration for sending him to the minors, and was very firm in his response that that wasn't something they were thinking about. But with Cowser playing so little and so poorly, it is time to reconsider that position.

Jud Fabian can play the 4th outfielder role as well as Colton Cowser until he figures out his offensive game again

Cowser's issue is that he's been trying so hard and so unsuccessfully to hit offspeed pitches that he's lost his real strength, which was blasting fastballs into the stands. This is not an issue that he's going to fix, taking batting practice before the game and getting one at bat in the ninth after coming in as a defensive replacement. He needs reps to work through this and come out the other side. The Orioles have smartly identified that their offense can't afford to have him working through these issues, but you know who could afford to let Cowser work through his issues? The Norfolk Tides.

As far as replacing Cowser on the big league team, Leody Taveras has slid in nicely as the primary centerfielder, and if the Orioles want someone who can sit on the bench and come in late in the game for defensive purposes, then they can call up Jud Fabian to play that role.

Fabian is a centerfield prospect whose shine has come off him as he's gotten older, and it's become apparent that his hit tool isn't good enough for him to be a starting-caliber outfielder in the major leagues. He has decent plate discipline and good power, but it's hard to see him hitting over .200 in the big leagues with how he's struggled to make contact all through the minors. However, with his good defense and ability to pop one of the fences every now and then, he's perfectly suited to be a 4th or 5th outfielder, which is what the Orioles need right now.

Assuming Cowser can figure out what is going on with his offense, once he's looking right, he can rejoin the team as an everyday outfielder again, and Fabian can go back down to the minors, no harm, no foul. You give an older prospect a chance to show something, and you let one of your young players get right without hurting the team. The only question is, why haven't the Orioles done this already?

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow