In Colton Cowser’s final at-bat of the 2024 season, he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and one out with the Orioles down 2-1 to the Royals.

He proceeded to strike out, his third of the game.

The most horrifying thing about the strikeout was that strike three was a ball he swung through that ended up hitting him and breaking his hand.

It was a truly undignified way to end his, and ultimately the Orioles, season.

If that is still what you think of when you think of Cowser, it’s ok. It’s what I thought of for a while after the Orioles were swept out of the Wild Card Series.

When I thought back on that botched fifth-inning rally, I thought of Cowser swinging at the pitch that hit him. When it was announced that he had surgery on his hand, I was taken right back to it.

But some time passed, and on November 18th, I found myself watching MLB Network’s painful reveal of the 2024 Rookies of the Year.

They stretched a 10-second announcement into an hour-long TV show.

At the end, we learned that Cowser narrowly missed out on the award, coming in second place to Luis Gil. I was disappointed and slightly outraged, but I didn’t think about that strikeout.

I remembered the Colton Cowser that we saw an exciting rookie season, a player I look forward to seeing for years to come.

The steady stream of top prospects being promoted to the Orioles has slowed to a drip but for some time, it was just one after another. Starting with Adley Rutschman, it seemed like every time I looked at social media another hype video had dropped.

With those promotions came talk from fans and press alike: when will the Orioles start extending these young stars? And who is most likely to stick around?

The answers to both of those questions remain to be seen, as the Orioles haven’t yet made the plunge. Maybe that answer will be Cowser?

Drafted out of college in the first round of the 2021 draft, Cowser had a quick ascent to the majors. After getting into 25 games with the Low-A Shorebirds the year he was drafted, Cowser scaled three levels in 2022 and finished the year with the triple-A Norfolk Tides. After 56 games with the Tides to start 2023, Cowser made his major-league debut on July 5th.

When he got to the big leagues, he had a rude awakening. His OPS was just .433 in 26 games, and he was sent back to the Tides to finish the season.

A spot in the starting lineup for the 2024 Orioles was far from a sure thing, but he earned the opportunity and never looked back. He spent every day of the season with the Orioles and played in 153 games, mostly in left field.

After a scorching hot start to the season at the plate, Cowser went a bit streaky over the rest of the year. But he ended the year with solid numbers.

He had 24 home runs and 24 doubles with a respectable .768 OPS. His OPS+, of 123 ranked him as nearly 25% better than the average major leaguer.

It was a very encouraging year after his 2023 struggles.

Cowser does strike out too much, with a K rate of 30.7% last year (172 total strikeouts). And the lefty batter struggles with left-handed pitchers. That is a trend that also bears out through his minor-league numbers.

In addition to proving himself a more than competent hitter, Cowser played above-average defense in left field and held his own in center field when he played in place of Cedric Mullins.

In left field, Cowser was 10 fielding runs and eight outs above average, which led the position. He also has one of the strongest, if not the most accurate, arms in the league.

The Orioles just lost a mainstay of their outfield when Anthony Santander became a free agent after the season. Their other veteran outfielder, Cedric Mullins, is a free agent after the 2025 season. Cowser isn’t far behind them; he won’t reach free agency until 2030 at the age of 30.

That might seem like a reason not to offer him a contract extension, but that is the age that Santander is right now. And I know that Cowser and Santander are not the same player, not even close.

But humor me for a second. The Orioles and Santander have probably parted ways permanently as Santander looks for his big contract. And of course he should!

But wouldn’t it be nice if he were guaranteed to be an Orioles for two or three more seasons without having to worry about that?

Buying out Cowser’s arbitration years and adding two or three years onto the end with a contract extension would do just that for him. Instead of losing him after the 2029 season and wishing we could have a few more years, the Orioles could take of that.

It will be an especially nice comfort if the team loses Adley Rutschman to free agency in 2028 and Gunnar Henderson in 2029.

As it currently stands, Jordan Westburg and Grayson Rodriguez are also slated to become free agents in 2030.

Most of the incredible prospects the Orioles have raised up over the years will be set to leave the team in a few-year span around this time.

If none of them end up sticking around beyond their initial commitment it will be a huge disappointment. Signing Cowser to an extension sooner rather than later would be a good first step in easing that burden.