Prospect #2 in the Pence deal is RHP Jarred Cosart. Cosart is 21 years old, 6'3" and 180lbs. Cosart was drafted in the 38th Round of the 2008 Draft, out of Clear Creek High School in League City.
In seven games for the GCL Phillies in 2009, Cosart threw 24.1IP, 12H/6ER, 25K:7BB, with a 2.22 ERA/0.78 WHIP. He spent 2010 with Lakewood, in the South Atlantic League, throwing 71.1IP, 60H/30ER, 77K:16BB, for a 3.79 ERA/1.07 WHIP. This season, in 20 games (19 starts), Cosart has thrown 108IP, 98H/47ER, 79K:43BB, with his K:BB ratio dropping from 4.81 in 2010 to 1.84 in 2011.
FanGraphs wrote of Cosart coming into 2011:
He has the ceiling of a No. 1 starter and his repertoire includes a mid-to-high-90s fastball, curveball and changeup. Cosart has a low-three-quarter arm slot and there is definitely some effort to his delivery. He doesn’t use his lower half as much as I’d like to see; he generates much of his velocity through his arm action.
This is after they mention his injury history: elbow, shoulder, and back.
I like the talk about the SP1, but the Astros are going to have to tread carefully with him.
Given his groundball track record, he could slide over to the corresponding level at Lancaster. I'd prefer to see some shuffling (ideally after the impending Wandy/Myers trade) and see him at Corpus the rest of the season.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
