SARASOTA, Fla. — Of all the Orioles players this spring, there may be none with a larger range of possibilities entering 2026 than Colton Cowser. At his best, he was a rookie of the year finalist. At his lowest, he struck out in 35% of his at-bats.

The reality may be somewhere in between, but the latest twist in Cowser’s path is his defensive position. He is not new to center field. To say that would be to ignore his time at Sam Houston State and the minor leagues — as well as the final few months of the 2025 season, when he replaced the offloaded Cedric Mullins.

Still, Cowser is entering the season as Baltimore’s primary center fielder, and for a team with postseason aspirations, the duties that go with that are extensive. His bat is a major question. But so, too, is how he will handle the captaincy of the outfield at the highest level of the sport.

“It’s more of a mentality of knowing you’re commanding the outfield out there, you have priority over everyone on the field,” Cowser said.

He channeled that energy in the corner outfield positions, too, he said. The 26-year-old would call for the ball until the center fielder made it clear it was his. But now the communication rests on his shoulders — the prepitch planning, adjusting where his corner outfielders stand.

This will also be the first time since 2020 anyone except Mullins will patrol center field on opening day.

There has been tremendous consistency in Baltimore for more than a decade. Austin Hays started in center field in 2020, and Mullins started there in 2019 and every year from 2021-25. From 2008-18, Adam Jones held the position.

This could be a changing of the guard, ushering in a new era in which Cowser stakes his claim in center. Or he’s more of a holdover until Enrique Bradfield Jr. or another defensive maestro arrives, in which case Cowser would return to left field.

The time Cowser spent in center to end last season was vital experience. Jason Bourgeois, the first base and outfield coach, said “getting his feet wet” toward the end of a losing season gave Cowser a base from which to grow on defense.

“That was huge to be able to go out there, be aggressive, make mistakes and learn from it,” Bourgeois said. “He’s bought into a lot of the reactionary stuff, and right now I feel like he’s in a great spot. He has adjustability. A great athlete. He gets off the ball really well, and he closes on balls really well.

“Now it’s about spatial awareness, right?” Bourgeois continued. “Communication, being a leader, knowing where those guys are who are next to you. He’s taken that to the forefront, and he’s really, really impressed me, and I think a lot of the coaching staff around here, on how he’s going about it.”

Manager Craig Albernaz said, especially this last week of spring, he has noticed the work Cowser has done with Bourgeois on prepitch communication and initial reaction times “come to fruition.” Cowser made a play against the wall Thursday in Tampa against the New York Yankees that drew Albernaz’s praise.

Still, two scouts for opposing clubs who have observed the Orioles closely this spring said Cowser isn’t likely to grow into an above-average center fielder. The scouts, speaking anonymously to candidly analyze players, don’t view Cowser as a liability in center. They noted his strong arm. But, at the same time, Cowser’s defensive ceiling doesn’t extend high.

From a long-term standpoint, they view Cowser as a strong corner outfielder.

For the time being, at least, the Orioles need him to be steady in center. And they need him to recapture his form at the plate. In 2024, Cowser hit 24 home runs and produced a .768 on-base-plus-slugging percentage as Baltimore’s everyday left fielder. Injuries and inconsistencies held him to a .655 OPS in 92 games last year.

Cowser entered the spring with the goal of maintaining weight on his back hip longer, which could allow him to see fastballs deeper into the strike zone and adjust more easily to off-speed pitches. The results this spring haven’t been eye-popping — he has a .225 average and .554 OPS — but Cowser said he has focused more on his approach than the outcomes.

Cowser played center field at Sam Houston State and in the minor leagues before manning the position late last season for the Orioles. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Banner)

“I’ve been meeting with the hitting guys, and we’re trying to just develop a good routine, a good plan, to almost … diagnose it,” Cowser said. “Like, in the cage, if one thing is happening in the cage with the ball flight, diagnosing it by going to a checklist like, it’s this or it’s this.”

In doing so, Cowser hopes to find his rhythm by opening day, which arrives in less than a week. For the Orioles to bounce back from a poor 2025 season, improved performances from Cowser would go a long way.

At the least, he will need to be solid in center — carrying a mentality that makes it clear he’s the leader of that group.

“You can’t play center field without being that guy. And he knows that,” Bourgeois said. “He’s played with guys who are leaders out there and who led the way not only vocally but by example. He’s been around long enough to know what that looks like, what that’s supposed to be like, and he’s taken accountability for it.”