The one thing the Astros have not been shy about is promoting young guys to let them use this obvious throwaway year to develop. With their pitching staff ranked 30th in ERA, WHIP, and BAA, there are obviously going to be changes coming. Since all their top ranked prospects like Jonathan Singleton, Carlos Correa, and George Springer are position players, Jarred Cosart is the only obvious choice for a June (maybe July) call up.
Cosart, 23, was a bargain when the Phillies drafted him in the 38th round of the amateur draft in 2008 out of Clear Creek High School in League City, TX. By 2010, Cosart was ranked the 70th top prospect in the country and in 2011 he was shipped to Houston along with Jonathan Singleton for Hunter Pence. Since then, he has done nothing but play solid ball and is finally on the cusp of being called up – albeit to the worst team in baseball.
This season, Cosart has impressed the Astros as he’s gone 5-2 with a 3.07 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and a career high 9.7 K/9. His WHIP is obviously problematic, he is walking 5.2/9. At the same time, 16 of his 34 walks came over just three of his 12 games played so it’s a sporadic issue, not a constant, but he certainly has a propensity to be a bit wild. He’s also thrown six wild pitches this season and hit three batters.
The WHIP has been the one downside to his game. He seems to have gotten his BAA under control as his H/9 has dropped from 7.8 in his career to 6.9 this season. The walks remain a problem, he has a career 3.6 BB/9. His 1.26 career WHIP in the minors isn’t terrible but it could certainly be better.
On the other hand, all of his other numbers look good. Splitting the season between Double-A and Triple-A, Cosart put up a 3.30 ERA and 7.2 K/9 last season. In his career he owns a 3.57 ERA, 7.8 K/9, and a 2.18 K/BB ratio. His WHIP may be high but he makes up for it with a stellar 0.4 HR/9 in his career and 0.2-0.3/9 over his last two seasons. In other words, he may allow more baserunners than you’d like but he limits his mistakes and does not allow those baserunners to score. That much has been a constant throughout his five-year minor league career.
With his second go-around in Triple-A this season, Cosart is starting to hit a wall in how much he can develop down in the farm. With the Astros focusing on bringing up young talent for the future, it is highly unlikely that Cosart will find himself stuck in the minors by July. With a 3.07 ERA and 9.7 K/9 in the minors, he looks to be a solid speculative get once the Astros feel comfortable calling him up.
