Baltimore Orioles Outfielder Among Five Hottest Rookies

The Baltimore Orioles continue to churn out hitter after hitter, and one of their rookies continues to play well.

Aug 1, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Orioles left fielder Colton Cowser (17) rounds third base en route to scoring at Progressive Field. / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Over the last few seasons, the Baltimore Orioles have been known for drafting and developing hitters and they just seem to keep coming. Players like Adley Rutschman, Ryan Mountcastle and Gunnar Henderson have all come up to make an impact in a short amount of time. The same can be said for Colton Cowser, who was named as the fifth hottest rookie by MLB Pipeline.

Cowser made his debut in 2023, but only played in 26 games so he was able to keep his eligibility. He struggled in his first stint in Baltimore, going just 7-for-61 with a .433 OPS.

Cowser made the Orioles' Opening Day roster for 2024 and has been one of the team's most reliable, everyday players. In 105 games, the 24-year-old is slashing .253/.335/.459 with 16 homers and 49 RBIs.

Since the beginning of July, Cowser has been scorching hot. Over his last 25 games, the lefty has hit .333 with four home runs and 15 RBIs. In this stretch, his on-base percentage has been over .400 while his slugging percentage has been .506.

Over the last month, the outfielder has taken the lead in a few major categories among rookies. His 16 home runs leads all rookies, as does his 3.1 fWAR. He is also third in RBIs and slugging percentage, while being fifth in wRC+.

Cowser has all but kept himself in the race for American League Rookie of the Year with this hot stretch. Over the last two seasons, the Orioles have seen Rutschman finish second in 2022 and Gunnar Henderson win it in 2023. With the way Cowser has played this year, it's possible he could keep that streak of top Rookie of the Year finishers going.

Not only has the former first round pick been impressive among rookies, but he has just been flat out good for Baltimore. Cowser is second on the Orioles behind Gunnar Henderson in fWAR with his 3.1 mark and is also fourth on the team in home runs.

There has been a lot of attention on Jackson Holliday and his struggles, and now his success, because of his prospect pedigree. However, Cowser was a big prospect in his own right. He was ranked as the 40th overall player by MLB Pipeline after 2023 and is now proving that he earned that ranking.

He won AL Rookie of the Month in April and AL Player of the Week in April, and looks to collect more awards as the season goes on.