Now that he has a chance to relax following his first full season in the majors, Colton Cowser can look back fondly on what he achieved. He was a Gold Glove finalist for his work in the Orioles’ outfield. He finished second — by a narrow margin — in American League Rookie of the Year voting. And he endeared himself to Baltimore’s fans so much they “moo” him at every opportunity.

He appears to be an Orioles mainstay for years to come.

In that downtime, The Baltimore Banner asked Cowser to reflect on his first full season, from his 24 home runs to his elevated strikeout numbers. The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

The Baltimore Banner: How do you evaluate your first extended stretch in Major League Baseball? There were positives. Then there were some in-zone swings and misses and overall strikeout rate considerations. How do you balance it?

Colton Cowser: I think the way that I view it is, obviously, how the first stint went around in 2023 and then kind of going into spring where I was just competing for a fourth outfield spot, just making the team was my goal this year. And then being able to turn into an everyday player, regardless of what accolades or anything like that show, that’s just a success, the way I view it. Just taking it from that perspective, I’d take it as a success and a very successful year. And then, definitely, definitely, some growing pains for sure, that accumulated over the year. But I think that’s one of those things you just learn and grow with.

BB: When you say growing pains, I know the pitchers, naturally, every single level of play, they will adjust as you adjust to them. It’s a cat-and-mouse game. How did you notice they attacked you differently midway through the season?

CC: I hadn’t really had a full breakdown yet. I’ll have a Zoom coming up with the hitting staff, just kind of breaking down the year. I know, the year prior, we broke down how I was approaching the big leagues versus Triple-A, and I’m sure we’ll do a breakdown from the first half, second half.

I don’t know if it really changed a whole lot. I know I got attacked with more off-speed pitches, but you know, when I was going well, I was hitting those off-speed pitches. So I think that, overall, it was more of a situation where, when I was in my approach, I was getting pitched the same, but I wasn’t necessarily chasing or expanding on some of those pitches that I was when I’m struggling.

And I guess, whenever I’m struggling, it’s like, I’m more aware of those things going on. So it’s like, I know a certain pitch is coming, but I still chase it because I’m kind of looking for it. But I think whenever I’m going really well and playing how I know I’m capable of, I would take those off-speed pitches and get back on to whatever, like fastball timing, and then when I’m on fastball timing, I’m able to adjust to the off-speed pitches better, rather than being kind of in between.

BB: Just so I understand it, I’ll repeat, and you can see if I’ve got the gist. When you were scuffling, even if you had an idea that, “OK, maybe this is a slider” or whatever pitch it is, the timing being off on the fastball made it more difficult to hit it or foul it or take it?

CC: I guess, just to answer the question as a whole, I definitely think there’s ways that they were pitching me differently. But they still have to establish it in certain ways. Because I look at some at-bats when I’m like, I am getting off-speed pitches early but I’m able to, whether it’s take them or put more quality swings on them, they still have to deter and do things differently. But I think that it’s, just when I was struggling and getting pitched differently earlier on in counts, and chasing those, it was more like an in-between chase, I guess you could say.

BB: And, obviously the margin is so tiny at that level, it can be more noticeable when it is off.

CC: And I think that when I was going through some of those lulls and got back going again, it was, like, I just got back into the approach. My approach was just more fine-tuned. I think it’s just one of those things, you just kind of have to adjust.

I think pitchers definitely pitched me differently, but I think that it won’t be as different whenever you look at it from a full perspective. I don’t think it’s going to be as crazy different as it might have seemed. I’m curious to see what the numbers look like. I don’t know what they are going to look like, but I might just sound like an idiot right now. Void the whole question in general if it’s like, “Yeah, Colton, you got pitched way differently.”

I guess to answer the question is, it matters, but it’s one of those things where it’s like, if I know if I’m going well, it doesn’t really quite matter how I’m being pitched. I have a better idea of it, but I’m also being able to attack my strengths, not necessarily worried about how they’re going to pitch me against my weaknesses. I’m just going to worry about my strengths, and then the things will handle itself from there.

Statistical interlude: According to Statcast, Cowser faced breaking balls 35.2% of the time in June while seeing 48% fastballs. The marks were the highest and lowest extremes this season, and they corresponded with a difficult month for Cowser. In June, he hit .182 and he saw his swing-and-miss rate rise to 32.9%.

It isn’t an extreme shift from his average, when he saw at least 52% fastballs down the stretch. But the swing and miss was noticeably up. Now back to the interview.

BB: When you finish second in AL Rookie of the Year voting — and it’s tight — how quickly did you get to the perspective that finishing second was a feat considering how you entered the year rather than something of a disappointment to not finish first?

CC: I kind of had that perspective the whole year. And I think, whenever I was struggling, I was putting a little bit of pressure on the fact that I was the favorite to win for a little bit of the year. And then I wasn’t, and at the All-Star break I wasn’t even really the favorite anymore. Then I started playing really well again and then started turning into the favorite again. Then I struggled again.

But as the year went on it was a helpful reminder of being like, “You know what, being in this position is great. It’s one of those things where I wasn’t really expecting to be in it.” When it was announced, I was expecting to get second place. That was kind of just my logic when you looked at the year as a whole. I was expecting second place and got second, but it was pretty close. So that kind of stung a little bit and made you think, “What more could I have done?” But I wasn’t really frustrated by any means, because you look at what it was from the beginning of the year, it’s like, “Wow. It’s a great year.”

BB: Your bat speed was probably as fast as it has ever been in your life this season. How did you get to that point? What were the positives? And what negatives come from it too?

CC: I just think, overall, you look at side-by-side views of ’23 swings versus ’24, I look at it sometimes where I’ve watched swings and I’m like, “How did I have success?” I was sitting there like, “How did I get drafted where I did?” I was able to have success with the swing I had. And my lower body just wasn’t consistent at all. But, whenever I was showing those signs of playing really well, my lower-body timing and everything was synced up.

So I think this past offseason it was like, “OK, how can we be more consistent in our load and in our lower body, in our swing where there wasn’t as many moving parts or as much as a hip slide, so things were in inconsistent spots?” I think that the bat speed increased because I was just in more of a consistent launch position. And I think, by me being in more of a consistent launch position, it felt like I could almost hit every pitch sometimes.

And I think sometimes that can be kind of a negative, because I feel like I’m in the right spot to go, but then it’s like, “Oh, you gotta slow down a little bit sometimes.” Overall, it’s very positive, but I guess a negative would be thinking I can hit every pitch because I’m in a consistent spot to hit. And previously, my whole career, I hadn’t been and sometimes the move would take a little bit longer, and I was able to hit other pitches. But I think it was just kind of a learning curve of being in a really consistent spot, especially with my lower-body rotation, so it was just a matter of letting the ball get deep.

BB: Not to be a Debbie Downer, but one aspect of the season was strikeouts. And that’s something you obviously despise. Part of that is, clearly, when you’re at a major league level, these guys are the best pitchers in the world, so everybody strikes out.

Cowser: Trust me, I’m aware of it. It’s something I’d like to cut down.

BB: When you studied the strikeout numbers, what stood out? Was it chase?

Cowser: I know that the hitting staff has an idea, and I’m sure we’ll talk about it within the next couple of weeks when I start swinging again. I think that it’s probably a culmination of being in between sometimes. I mean, it sounds bad whenever you say I think I can hit everything. I would get to a point and see the ball so early because I’m in a consistent launching pattern. I would go at it and be too quick to it, and I think a lot of the things that I remember looking at halfway through the year, my in-zone, foul and miss percentage was a little high. And I’m like, Why is that? And it’s mainly just approach and letting the ball get a little bit deeper. I don’t know why that is the case. I mean, I kind of have an idea, but I think it’s just getting back to really seeing the ball.