Cowart

[Memories of 02]

The can't miss number 1.for so long.

The speed, that cannon arm, that beautiful swing. had the scouts  falling  all over themselves, gushing.

It just hasn't happened.

With Ward, the Angels number one pick of 2015, having torn up both the Southern League, and the PCL, this year with almost eerie, consistency, and within a hare's breath of stepping on stage, in the show, has the time arrived to give up on Kaleb?

[popo85]

Ward should be getting Cowarts AB's asap

[mulwin444]

Cowart is crafty

He's been "sucking" the last four years just to lull the competition to sleep.

Even that at bat tonight with bases loaded, 1 out...it only appears he's an awful overmatched hitter but it's all part of the long play for that crucial, pennant-deciding at bat to come in 2019

[Troll Daddy]

Thoughts and Prayers 

[tomsred]

I don't know why you guys think that Ward is going to be any better.  He is still learning the defensive skills necessary for him to succeed at third base.  Offensively, it's a crap shoot when these guys get up here, sometimes they work out to some lessor degree, sometimes they fall flat.  Fletcher was hitting mid 300's in Salt Lake, Cowart has hit much better in Salt Lake, EY Jr. has hit much better in Salt Lake.  It's getting rather discouraging seeing about a 100 points come off their batting averages as soon as they arrive here.  I'm rather skeptical of Ward suddenly becoming a moto bat. 

[stormngt]

41 minutes ago, tomsred said:

I don't know why you guys think that Ward is going to be any better.  He is still learning the defensive skills necessary for him to succeed at third base.  Offensively, it's a crap shoot when these guys get up here, sometimes they work out to some lessor degree, sometimes they fall flat.  Fletcher was hitting mid 300's in Salt Lake, Cowart has hit much better in Salt Lake, EY Jr. has hit much better in Salt Lake.  It's getting rather discouraging seeing about a 100 points come off their batting averages as soon as they arrive here.  I'm rather skeptical of Ward suddenly becoming a moto bat. 

Last year Cowart destroyed AAA

[Pujols4MVP]

19 minutes ago, stormngt said:

Last year Cowart destroyed AAA

Does Cowart have anxiety like Brandon Wood ? That destroyed Wood from ever hitting MLB pitching.

Imagine the pressure Ward will feel: Cowart, Wood & McPherson came before him & look how they did.

To be fair McPherson always had at least a .740 or higher OPS with the Angels but he got injured from just stepping on the field.

[GrittyVeterans]

He’s pretty bad. He will be given until the end of the year and then released from the 40 man

[Jeff Fletcher]

1 hour ago, tomsred said:

I don't know why you guys think that Ward is going to be any better.  He is still learning the defensive skills necessary for him to succeed at third base.  Offensively, it's a crap shoot when these guys get up here, sometimes they work out to some lessor degree, sometimes they fall flat.  Fletcher was hitting mid 300's in Salt Lake, Cowart has hit much better in Salt Lake, EY Jr. has hit much better in Salt Lake.  It's getting rather discouraging seeing about a 100 points come off their batting averages as soon as they arrive here.  I'm rather skeptical of Ward suddenly becoming a moto bat. 

It’s almost like the PCL is a whole different level than the majors. 

[mulwin444]

Ward at least seems to know how to take a walk and make contact which is encouraging...

[SoWhat]

I don’t think there’s a single person on here expecting Ward to be called up and hit like a MOTO bat. Defensively, he can’t be any worse than Valbuena, can he? We’re out of the race and there’s only 40 something games left, the sooner they call him up the more we’ll get to see him showcase his abilities. 

[Blarg]

He's not on the 40 man which is maxed out on relief pitchers to cover bullpen games and players on the DL.

[ADHB]

Ward is a completely different situation than Cowart.  Cowart never hit well in the minors anywhere except Salt Lake (maybe low A briefly).  It was a strange thing because he was struggling so much in AA that they demoted him to San Bernardino, and he still struggled. Then they bumped him up to AAA out of the blue, and he magically started performing.  They attributed it to some sort of swing change, etc. but in reality it was likely the environment.

Ward, on the other hand, destroyed AA pitching this season before being moved up (and didn't perform that badly last season in his first taste of it while still catching).  That level has a much higher concentration of high end prospects compared to AAA, and he had no issue with it.  Cowart tried AA a few different times, and he was terrible.

So offensively I'd expect Ward to hold his own at the major league level, and maybe even thrive.  The defense is what's likely holding him back for now.

[tdawg87]

Cowart was never really a "can't miss" prospect. He was pretty good until he got to AA and was then completely exposed.

He was the best prospect in a very poor system, then completely fell off the map after sucking at Arkansas for two straight years. That should have told us more about him than his odd resurgence at AAA. But obviously he deserved a shot. 

[tdawg87]

8 hours ago, tomsred said:

I don't know why you guys think that Ward is going to be any better.  He is still learning the defensive skills necessary for him to succeed at third base.  Offensively, it's a crap shoot when these guys get up here, sometimes they work out to some lessor degree, sometimes they fall flat.  Fletcher was hitting mid 300's in Salt Lake, Cowart has hit much better in Salt Lake, EY Jr. has hit much better in Salt Lake.  It's getting rather discouraging seeing about a 100 points come off their batting averages as soon as they arrive here.  I'm rather skeptical of Ward suddenly becoming a moto bat. 

Well for one, Ward started killing it at AA, in a relatively neutral park. 

He also has shown a ton of plate discipline, something Cowart never did. 

You're right that he has just as much chance of being a dud, but you won't know until he actually gets a chance. Cowart is 26 now and has 300 PA's of suck. It's time to give Ward a shot.

[Angel Oracle]

The one who is lucky right now to have a MLB job is Marte.   He’s even worse than Valnobuena.

[fan_since79]

6 hours ago, Blarg said:

He's not on the 40 man which is maxed out on relief pitchers to cover bullpen games and players on the DL.

We're certain to set a new franchise record for number of pitchers used in a season. Arcia was our 31st pitcher this year which ties the team mark, and there are seven weeks left.

 

[WeatherWonk]

7 hours ago, Blarg said:

He's not on the 40 man which is maxed out on relief pitchers to cover bullpen games and players on the DL.

Doesnt describe Marte. 

The problem with waiting till the September call-ups is that lots of players will be called up, too. It will limit his ABs as the FO inspects EVERYTHING they have. 

It would be nice to discover if Ward's bat is, yet again, the product of the PCL or something different. Discovering this sooner, and with certainty, would be nice.

OK, so he makes a few errors. That's a small price to pay in a lost season.

Unless the plan is simply Cozart and Fletch at 3rd/2nd. But it's beginning to look like the BEST we can expect from that pairing is about a .260 avg, a low OBP and very little slugging. Ward at 3rd and Cozart at 2nd COULD significantly improve that. Can we wait till May-June of 2019 to find out?

Playing Ward more NOW, would also tell us whether it might make sense to pursue Machado. Is there a hitter available this offseason that would be a better pairing with Trout? We would finally have something as good or better than Albert in 2012, to put behind Trout. Trout was only walked every 9.5 ABs back then. Now, it's twice as often, since there is no comparable threat behind him. I know, many dismiss the concept of "protection" in a lineup. I dont. Trout gets pitched around unmercifully, IMO.

Walks are great, but I want to see a hitter like Trout, HIT.

[eligrba]

Valbuena is finally gone.

I will not complain about Cowart.

I will not complain about Cowart.

I will not complain about Cowart.

I will not complain about Cowart.

[stormngt]

1 hour ago, WeatherWonk said:

Doesnt describe Marte. 

The problem with waiting till the September call-ups is that lots of players will be called up, too. It will limit his ABs as the FO inspects EVERYTHING they have. 

It would be nice to discover if Ward's bat is, yet again, the product of the PCL or something different. Discovering this sooner, and with certainty, would be nice.

OK, so he makes a few errors. That's a small price to pay in a lost season.

Unless the plan is simply Cozart and Fletch at 3rd/2nd. But it's beginning to look like the BEST we can expect from that pairing is about a .260 avg, a low OBP and very little slugging. Ward at 3rd and Cozart at 2nd COULD significantly improve that. Can we wait till May-June of 2019 to find out?

Playing Ward more NOW, would also tell us whether it might make sense to pursue Machado. Is there a hitter available this offseason that would be a better pairing with Trout? We would finally have something as good or better than Albert in 2012, to put behind Trout. Trout was only walked every 9.5 ABs back then. Now, it's twice as often, since there is no comparable threat behind him. I know, many dismiss the concept of "protection" in a lineup. I dont. Trout gets pitched around unmercifully, IMO.

Walks are great, but I want to see a hitter like Trout, HIT.

Trout will be walked a lot if Babe Ruth was hitting behind him.

[Make Angels Great Again]

Odd timing on this thread since over his last 22 PAs he's batting .294/.455/.471

[GrittyVeterans]

9 minutes ago, Make Angels Great Again said:

Odd timing on this thread since over his last 22 PAs he's batting .294/.455/.471

Hes definitely not the worst player on the roster either...probably not even in the bottom 3

i just don’t see room for him next year..but his career isn’t over

[GrittyVeterans]

The best thing for Cowart’s career would be for him to end up on an awful team like the Marlins or Royals. Gives him a shot at consistent reps at the MLB level in a lower pressure situation which is what he needs.

I don’t think he’ll ever hit much but maybe he could carve out a career like Sean Rodriguez has

 

[Stradling]

11 minutes ago, GrittyVeterans said:

Hes definitely not the worst player on the roster either...probably not even in the bottom 3

i just don’t see room for him next year..but his career isn’t over

I’ve always liked Cowart, but yea he’s certainly in the bottom 3 right now.  Marte, EYjr, who else?

[John Taylor]

I've noticed Cowart keeps changing up his batting stance as well, I remember a couple years ago he was trying more of a John Olerud type swing with the bat resting on his shoulder, how he holds the bat farther out and it looks like he response time to the ball is worse.

I was a bigger fan of his previous batting stance but I noticed that when I check my voicemail I currently have no offers from any baseball team to be a hitting coach, so my opinion on this matter is worth about as much as Valbuena meant to this team.