Inside The Orioles

Baltimore Orioles Rookie Blowing Away Competition

Baltimore Orioles rookie Colton Cowser is dominating the 2024 class.

Tyler Maher

Mar 30, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser (17).
Mar 30, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser (17). / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
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It's no secret that the Baltimore Orioles' farm system has produced a lot of incredible players lately, many of whom have dominated straight from the jump.

In 2022, Adley Rutschman immediately established himself as one of the best catchers in baseball. He finished runner-up to Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez in the AL Rookie of the Year vote that season, but only because Rodriguez had a historically good campaign. In almost any other year, Rutschman would have taken home the hardware.

In 2023, Gunnar Henderson left no doubts about who the top rookie in the American League was. He blew his competition out of the water, pacing AL rookies in WAR (6.2), runs (100), home runs (28), RBIs (82) and several other categories. Not surprisingly, he won AL Rookie of the Year unanimously, becoming the first Orioles player since Gregg Olson in 1989 to win the award.

In 2024, Colton Cowser is the early frontrunner to win the award. He's gotten off to an incredible start and leads AL rookies in numerous offensive statistics entering play on Tuesday.

Despite going just 2-for-18 over his last six games, the 24-year-old outfielder is still batting a robust .301/.373/.644, leading AL rookies in all three slash stats. He's shown impressive power with six homers, seven doubles and 18 RBIs in 27 games and has even flashed a bit of speed with three stolen bases.

Those numbers are even more impressive given Cowser's struggles last year. In 26 games after getting called up, he batted just .115/.286/.148 with no home runs and far more strikeouts (22) than hits (seven).

There's still a long way to go, but if Cowser keeps it up, he's going to put up some seriously impressive numbers. He won't just win Rookie of the Year in a landslide -- he'll be a top MVP candidate as well.

If Cowser (or teammate Jordan Westburg) wins AL Rookie of the Year, it will be the first time in franchise history that a Baltimore player has won the award in back-to-back seasons. It hasn't happened in the American League since 2004-05 when Bobby Crosby and Huston Street won it for the Oakland A's.

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Tyler Maher

TYLER MAHER

Tyler grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.