MLB · CF · Baltimore Orioles
Colton Cowser
B/T L/R · 6' 3" · 220 lb · born Houston, TX, USA · age 26 · draft 2021 rd 1 · played CF 73, RF 26, LF 10, DH 2 · MLB debut 2023-07-05
Last 14 days (through 2026-08-31): 11 G · .281 AVG · 2 HR · 3 RBI · .845 OPS
342 plate appearances scored this season His season card →
Scout’s note
Colton Cowser is a 26-year-old center fielder from Houston, a first-round pick in 2021. Over his last 12 MLB games he posted a .929 OPS with 3 home runs — the power showing up just when Baltimore needs it.
Note written · FVR scout (GLM-5.2)
We wrote about Cowser here — The Buzz September 1, 2026
Where he stands
throughAgainst the 382 qualified major-league hitters — 100+ balls in play this season, the same field the boards are chosen out of. Right is better on every row.
- EV95108.683
- Deserved (xVal)0.41477
- Got (aVal)0.37460
- Luck gap (park-adjusted)flipped-0.03078
today · 30 days ago, against the 340 men who qualified then · the tick is the midpoint · the number at the right is the percentile, the number beside it the measurement itself.
What he’s paid
Pre-arbitrationA market fact, not an engine read: what a club decided about him, on the season before this one. Figures from Cot’s, as of .
- 2026 salary
- $0.80Mest
- Tax hit
- $0.80M
- Service time
- 2 yr 43 d
- Options left
- 2 / 3
The deal 1 year $0.8M (2026)
On the sheet: 1 y/$801,500 (26)
After this season, as the sheet has it
| Season | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | Arb 1 | Arb 2 | Arb 3 | Free agent |
| Tax hit | — | — | — | — |
Cash and the tax hit are two different rulebooks and are never subtracted from one another — see the payroll board for his club, Baltimore Orioles.
A second set of books
The same contract, read by MLB Spreadsheets (Ethan Hullihen), as of . We keep two sources on this because one source cannot check itself.
- Tax AAV
- $0.80M
- Guaranteed
- $0.80M
- Term
- 1 yr
- His class
- Pre-Arb
What the sheet prices each season at
| Season | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary | Minimum | Arb 1 | Arb 2 | Arb 3 |
A base salary under his own reading, and never subtracted from the cash figure above: a signing bonus lands in one and not the other, so the two disagree on most men without either being wrong. And the sheet does not mark which future seasons are GUARANTEED — a club option and a projected arbitration award are both just a number here, so read past the end of the deal as his forecast rather than as money owed.
Two sources, read a month apart, put this guarantee at the same dollar. That is the check, and it passed.
The tax AAV above is his number under the CBA’s own rulebook, not the average we work out from Cot’s total. On a contract with deferred money the two come apart on purpose — and neither is subtracted from the other.
Collect Colton Cowser
If the signal is right, the cardboard usually finds out later. Current listings:
Colton Cowser cards on eBay →Paid link — as an eBay Partner, FVR earns from qualifying purchases.
Not financial advice. We take positions only after publication — never before. Misses stay on the record.
The Bureau on Colton Cowser
The scouting press, in their own words
This game-ending catch by Colton Cowser last night was INSANE. https://t.co/FuAcn8inCS
Umpire favor
+4.4 net runs over 44 graded games — the zone was kind to the umpire on balance.
The line
Bio & season lines: MLB StatsAPI · refreshed nightly · abbreviations →