After a disappointing start to his major league career, Colton Cowser put together a rookie season worthy of recognition.

It wasn’t enough to win American League Rookie of the Year, with Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil taking that title on Monday, but it did show why the Orioles see him as part of their long-term plans.

The award came down to just Cowser and Gil. The 26-year-old Yankees righty finished with 106 total point and 15 first-place votes to Cowser’s 101 points and 13 first-place votes. Yankees catcher Austin Wells finished third with 17 points.

Gil started 29 games for the Yankees and pitched to a 3.50 ERA, striking out 171 batters in 151 2/3 innings pitched.

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes won the National League Rookie of the Year awarded, with Severna Park native and Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill finishing second.

Cowser entered spring training just fighting for a spot on the opening day roster against a stacked group of prospects. He needed to show that he learned from his 26 major league games in 2023 and that he took the feedback coaches gave him to be more aggressive early in the count and to adjust his swing.

He did just that, earning a spot on the roster out of camp. Cowser’s rookie season started on the bench, but after nine games, he was given a chance in Boston. He got two hits and drove in four runs in his first start, and followed it up two days later by hitting his first career home run over the Green Monster and his second later that night into right field. In the three-game series, he went 6-for-13 with 10 RBIs.

From that point on, left field was primarily his as veteran outfielder Austin Hays slumped. The Orioles traded Hays before the mid-season deadline, entrusting Cowser with that position for not only the rest of the season but also the foreseeable future.

He was inconsistent at the plate, a hot April giving way to a unproductive May and July, but he picked it back up for the second half of the season. He finished his rookie season hitting .242 with a .768 on-base-plus-slugging percentage and 24 home runs. Cowser’s 4.0 fWAR was the best among American League rookies. Defensively, he was a finalist for a Gold Glove.

“If you had told me in February that this is what the outcome that I would have had as a team and as an individual then I would have been pretty excited,” Cowser said at the end of the season. “I’m not going to say I was the most consistent guy. There was definitely some low points when I would get frustrated but that’s a healthy reminder when you think about where I was at in February. Just to be where I am now, I’m extremely grateful and blessed.”

Merrill, a Severna Park High School graduate, made his debut on opening day for the Padres in left field, a position he only played a handful of times in the minors. He was an All-Star in his rookie season and finished the year hitting .292 and slugging .500 with a .826 OPS.