Scouts Buzzing Over Baltimore Orioles Lefty in Spring Training
To little surprise, the Baltimore Orioles have a large group of young players that scouts and executives around baseball are keenly interested in.
But, this time is not the Orioles’ No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday. He’s gotten plenty of that this offseason.
No, this time it’s a pitcher that could make a larger contribution to the Orioles this season, along with an outfielder who is just waiting for his shot.
Recently, ESPN wrote about 10 young players that scouts are buzzing about so far in spring training. They also included five more to watch.
For the Orioles, that Top 10 player was pitcher Cole Irvin.
The Orioles have some rotation issues, with an elbow injury to Kyle Bradish and a longer timeline to be ready for the season for John Means. So they have a couple of spots open. Irvin is a prime candidate to help.
Irvin didn’t have a great year last season. He went 1-4 with a 4.42 ERA in 24 games, 12 of which which were starts. But he’s not the soft-throwing left-hander who joined the Orioles in 2019. His fastball once topped 90 mph. He reported to Orioles spring training with a 94 mph fastball. He even clocked one on the cusp of 96 mph.
Why is that important? Velocity like that is something that few left-handers have, per ESPN. Last year only four threw harder than 96 mph in a game, and one was Cy Young winner Blake Snell.
The other is outfielder Colton Cowser, who was listed as a player worth following.
Cowser is one of the top prospects in the Orioles’ organization and he hit a walk-off home run in the O’s spring training opener. He got a call-up at the end of last season and, like most prospects, he struggled in a small sample size.
Cowser batted just .115 in 26 games with the O’s. He was their first-round pick 2021 out of Sam Houston. In three minor-league seasons he is a .298 hitter with 38 home runs and 168 RBI.
He’s probably ready for regular playing time in the Majors now. The problem, as ESPN points out, is that the Orioles have a crowded outfield situation and he may have to wait his turn a little bit longer.
