Amid his blazing-hot start to the season, Colton Cowser knew there would be tougher days ahead.

He was one of the sport’s best outfielders in April with a 1.004 OPS and six homers, emerging as an everyday player on the Orioles and a burgeoning star. But he realizes baseball is a roller coaster — one he experienced the lows of during his first stint in the majors the previous year.

“I’m going to try to ride it out however long I can,” Cowser said in April.

That ride came to an end Monday when Cowser nearly won the American League Rookie of the Year Award. He lost out to New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil by only five points for one of the closest Rookie of the Year elections in recent history.

But Cowser simply being a finalist is proof enough of his growth during his breakout 2024 campaign, and he’s confident there’s even more bubbling underneath the surface.

“This year,” Cowser said in the Orioles’ clubhouse shortly after the club was bounced from the postseason, “I’d like to think is kind of a baseline. I’m just looking to build.”

Cowser, the goofy and gregarious fan-favorite, dominated the minor leagues since the club drafted him No. 5 overall in 2021. Each time he’d jump a level, he’d briefly struggle before figuring it out and quickly proving he belonged.

But that took longer in the show. He hit only .115 in his first 26 MLB games after his promotion in July 2023. He was demoted and spent the rest of the season in the minors — struggling to regain his pre-promotion form.

The 24-year-old entered spring training as the underdog for a roster spot on the Orioles’ bench. He clearly earned that spot, and it didn’t take long before he took over the starting job in left field and emerged as one of Baltimore’s best players.

He said in April that he entered the season as if he had nothing to lose — and he played like it.

“If you fail, so what? At least you’re going down guns a-blazing,” he said. “Whatever happens, happens. I’m just going out there, playing and being aggressive.”

Cowser’s 2024 season was far from perfect. He struck out 30.7% of the time, which ranked in the bottom 7% of MLB players, according to Baseball Savant. While his highs were as high as anyone on the Orioles, his lows were, too. After his torrid April, he hit .185 with a .630 OPS across the next two months. And while he mostly played against left-handed starters, he struggled against them with a .224 average and .661 OPS.

Through those struggles, though, Cowser’s immense talent shined through — both at the plate, where he was a threat to smack a 400-foot homer, and in the field, where he was one of baseball’s best defensive outfielders. His 4.0 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs’ estimation, ranked second on the Orioles behind only superstar Gunnar Henderson. His .768 OPS was third on the team, while his 24 homers ranked first among AL rookies. And his 11 outs above average ranked fourth among AL outfielders, leading to his nomination as a finalist for the Gold Glove Award in left field.

While he didn’t win the official Rookie of the Year award handed out by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, Cowser did earn the award from his fellow players, winning AL Outstanding Rookie from the MLB Players Association.

“A lot of great names on here,” Cowser said in an MLBPA video while looking at a list of former winners of the awards that date to 1992, listing off Henderson, Carlos Correa, Aaron Judge and Mike Trout. “I really don’t view myself as one of those guys. It is kind of eye-opening to see some of these great names on this list.”

It would be unfair to say Cowser has the ceiling of any of those players he named. But the talent — the power, plate discipline and defense — is there for Cowser to take the next step heading into 2025.

“I definitely think there’s a lot to improve on,” he said with his fractured hand wrapped up after he exited the Orioles’ final postseason game after getting hit by a pitch. Cowser underwent surgery in October and is expected to be ready for the start of spring training.

“I can only get better,” he added. “There’s a lot of points this year where I struggled. If this is my baseline, I’m pretty excited.”

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 667-942-3337 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.