Cowser 'hungry' to make his mark in coveted center field spot

This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The lineage of center fielders in Orioles history is quite impressive. Paul Blair and Al Bumbry combined to start every Opening Day at the position from 1965-82, while either Adam Jones or Cedric Mullins started there in 17 of the past 18 openers.

Others who have held down the job include Fred Lynn, Mike Devereaux and Brady Anderson.

“We have one of the best storied histories of center fielders, I believe, in baseball,” said Jones, now an advisor in Baltimore’s front office. “That’s a position that’s been very locked down.”

Now, it’s Colton Cowser’s time.

After the O’s traded Cedric Mullins to the Mets last July 31, Cowser took over as the primary center fielder. The 25-year-old will enter the 2026 season as the starter at the position, which impacted how he went about his offseason work.

“That’s been my mindset,” Cowser said.

The No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, Cowser mostly played the corners (particularly left) early in his three-year big league career. But he’s made 89 starts in center over the past two seasons (including 41 last year) and proved he could be a great fit for the spot, which was his primary position in the Minor Leagues and during his time at Sam Houston State University.

Cowser’s arm strength ranked in the 93rd percentile in MLB in 2025, per Baseball Savant. His reaction time, however, still has room to improve, so growth in that area could help him become an even better defender in ‘26.

“I feel like I play it pretty well, but I think just the initial first step is the big thing for me,” Cowser said. “I feel like my closing speed is pretty good, and it’s just been reemphasized as well from the front office and more of the analytical data and stuff. ... We’ve been preaching ‘reaction is king’ here.”

That’s something Cowser has been hearing from Jason Bourgeois, the Orioles’ new first-base/outfield coach who joined new manager Craig Albernaz’s staff after spending the past two seasons in the same role for the White Sox.

“Right now, it’s dominating going back, getting comfortable, covering more ground,” Bourgeois said. “He’s open for change. He’s open to be coached, he’s super coachable. And I think when he’s all ears and really wants to go after it, those combinations together, we might get a solid product out there.”

Cowser and Bourgeois are both Houston natives and even shared a hitting coach there in Sid Holland, who worked with Bourgeois during his MLB playing career (2008-15) and has spent time with Cowser in more recent years. Because of that, Bourgeois knew of Cowser even before taking the job in Baltimore.

After Bourgeois was hired in mid-November, he returned to Houston for the holiday season and made time to visit with Cowser to get some facetime, discussing center field for about an hour.

“Just talking about where we can get better, where we can improve on,” Cowser said, “and there’s some areas that we want to work on.”

“He has the keys right now, I feel like, to go out and prove to everybody that not only can he dominate left field, but make the transition over to center,” Bourgeois added.

Another resource for Cowser has been Jones, who arrived at Orioles camp as a guest coach last Wednesday and will be here until this upcoming Saturday. The 40-year-old Jones was a four-time Gold Glover and five-time All-Star during his 14-year MLB career -- 11 of which were spent in Baltimore -- so he has plenty of wisdom to share.

The talkative Jones has been chatting with plenty of players so far, including Cowser.

“He’s hungry for it,” Jones said of Cowser. “I’m in his ear a lot because the talent is right there and I want to see him succeed. So anything I can do to help him, I’m on him. But at the end of the day, he has to play, and he has to go out there and do the job and he wants it.”

Does Jones think Cowser could be the next great O’s center fielder in a long line of them?

“That’s up to him. I think he does,” Jones said. “Obviously, he’s physically gifted. The athleticism is insane. You’ve got to go take it. Nothing is given to you in the Major Leagues.”