The Baltimore Orioles saw their season come to an end a bit earlier than they would have liked, as they were eliminated by the Kansas City Royals in the Wild Card Round.
Even though it might not have been the season that the Orioles wanted in 2024, this was still a very good team and one that has a bright future.
This offseason, there will be a lot of questions, however, for Baltimore, as Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander will both be hitting free agency. Of the two, the Orioles will likely be prioritizing trying to keep Burnes, as he was the ace of the staff and, as shown this season, was an extremely valuable member of the team.
While Santander was also excellent, Baltimore seemingly had a plethora of young talent on the team and still in their farm system to replace him.
One of the top young players for the Orioles this season was Colton Cowser. The talented outfielder is going to be in consideration to win the American League Rookie of the Year award, and he was recently ranked as the 8th best rookie of 2024 by Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report.
“Colton Cowser was one of the biggest stories of the 2024 season’s first few weeks, hitting .405/.435/.833 with six doubles, four home runs and 15 RBI In 46 plate appearances over his first 16 games. The league eventually adjusted to his early success and he slumped in May and June, but he rebounded over the final three months and hit .268/.337/.477 with 11 doubles, 12 home runs, 35 RBI in 65 games after the All-Star break.”
It was a superb season overall for Cowser, but consistency was a major issue for him. As a young player, that should be something that can be cleaned up in the offseason and next year, as he shouldn’t have the drastic ebbs and flows that was seen in 2024.
In his rookie campaign, Cowser totaled a .242 batting average, 24 home runs, 69 RBIs, and nine stolen bases. There was a lot to like about his rookie season, and he was certainly deserving of the high ranking among rookies.
Despite being in the conversation for the Rookie of the Year award, there were a ton of great rookies in the National League that were deserving of being ranked higher.
Moving forward, Cowser appears like he will be one of the young building blocks for the franchise for years to come.
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