The 2023 season for Cooper Bowman didn’t quite go as planned. Two different injuries would wind up costing him about half of his season. While he performed well, the lost playing time added up.
This article was first sent out to those who support the site over on Patreon. Early access is one of the perks that you could get be joining up as a Patron and supporting the work done here at RedsMinorLeagues.com.
When 2024 began the Athletics sent him back to Double-A where he had put up a .793 OPS the year before in 68 games played. The return to Midland didn’t get out to a good start. The first two weeks of the season saw Bowman hit just .220 with two extra-base hits, just three walks, and he struck out 15 times. Things got worse from there as he followed that up by going 1-29 in the final 11 days of April, but he was able to salvage the tiniest bit of something in those nine games by walking 11 times during that span.
May didn’t exactly start out hot, but it got started out on the right foot as Bowman picked up a hit in each the first five games, going 5-23 (.217). But things really picked up after that as he extended that 5-game hitting streak for another 12 games (going 20-47 in the process). The streak ended at 17 games when he went 0-1 as a pinch hitter in the first game of a doubleheader on the 23rd. In the second game of the day he picked up a hit and ran off another 6-game hitting streak before that one ended in game one of a doubleheader on the final day of the month before going 1-3 in the finale to cap off the month that saw him get a hit in all but one game he started.
His hot hitting in May carried over into June as he hit .333 and slugged .556 in the first 10 games of the month. But he went 0-8 in the next two games before being put on the injured list and missing 10 days. When he returned the hitting didn’t pick up as he hit .186 over the next two weeks, going 8-43. After a day off on July 11th he got back in the lineup for Midland and ran off an 11-game hitting streak that saw him hit .455 with 10 extra-base hits. That was enough for Oakland’s front office to promote him to Triple-A for the final day of July.
He would pick up multiple hits in his first two games with Las Vegas to extend his hitting streak to 13 games before it ended. Things were solid over the two weeks that followed as he hit .308 but with little power and a few walks, but that led into a two-and-a-half week slump where he hit just .057 in 12 games. Bowman picked things up for a few days in early September by going 6-18 in a 5-game span, but he went ice cold again in the final two weeks of the season by going 5-28 (.179).
For all 2024 Season Reviews and Scouting Reports – click here (these will come out during the week throughout the offseason).
Cooper Bowman Scouting Report
Position: Infielder/Outfielder | B/T: R/R
Height: 6′ 0″ | Weight: 205 lbs. | Acquired: Rule 5 Draft Pick (2024) | Born: January 25, 2000
Cincinnati used a Rule 5 pick in December to pick up Cooper Bowman from the Athletics. Mostly an infielder during his career, Oakland had him play some center field in 2024 once he got to Triple-A, starting 31 of his 35 games there when he was in the field. With plus-plus speed, his legs were able to help him overcome some mistakes in center, but he still looked new to the position at times. At second base, where he’s played more often than not in his minor league time, he’s a solid defender.
At the plate he’s got a pull-happy approach and that’s also where his power is at. 20 of his 25 doubles were pulled in 2024, and most of his home runs also came to his pull side. He did not homer at all in Triple-A in a 152 plate appearance sample in the final two months of the season. There’s some power in there, but at the same time he was very bad at making any sort of solid contact while in Triple-A. His average exit velocity in Triple-A ranked 495th out of 517 players with at least 100 at-bats at the level.
The speed will certainly play at the highest level. But if he’s going to stick around the big leagues even as a bench player he’s either going to have to improve his defense in the outfield, hit a lot more than he did in Triple-A, or a little bit of both. He’s not good enough defensively to also be just a pinch runner off of the bench. To get more out of his bat he’s going to need to make more contact or make far better contact than he did once he reached the highest level of the minor leagues.
The upside is there for a fringy starter at second base if he can get the most out of his bat. If he can get better in center and really allow his speed to play then there’s a solid profile there if the bat fully develops. If the bat can’t develop, though, there’s probably not enough there to have him just be a pinch runner where the speed can be a difference maker.
Stats
Spray Charts
Video
Interesting Stat on Cooper Bowman
When he was batting in the leadoff spot (237 plate appearances) in 2024 he hit .329/.423/.527. When he was batting 2nd (105 plate appearances) in the lineup he hit .171/.261/.295.
Bonus Stat: On June 8th he hit a walk-off 3-run home run. Until he didn’t. San Antonio, after Midland had finished celebrating at the plate, appealed to third base and the would-be tying run was called out for missing the third base bag as he rounded the bases. That was also the third out of the game. It resulted in Bowman being credited with a double instead of a home run.