Red Sox’ Jake Cosart fighting for an MLB chance

Cliff Welch/MiLB.com

Lowell, MA

August 29, 2019

Jake Cosart was a Boston Red Sox third-round pick in 2014 from Seminole State. He went to rookie-ball and began his journey in pro baseball. It took him two years before he made it to a full-season affiliate, and in 2016 he proved that he belonged at a high level of baseball. He posted a 1.78 ERA with 104 strikeouts in 70.2 innings. The next season, he made it all the way up to Double-A, only a couple calls from the big leagues and was just as dominant. In 2017 he posted a 3.10 ERA and earned Red Sox MiLB All-Star honors.

In 2018, Cosart was on a steady climb to the Majors by the end of the year before he hit bumps in the road. He started the season in Double-A and in 19 outings with them, he posted an ERA just south of six before being demoted to High-A.

Through all the frustration he had during the season, he started his offseason training right after the conclusion of the season.

“A lot of your success in season is indicative of your offseason…I kind of buckled down and realized I had to get after it.” Cosart tells me. He trained with former big leaguer and current Cubs coach Josh Zied on the daily. He worked on developing all four of his pitches as well as perfecting his form.

Bryan Green/Flickr

Following Spring Training, he was assigned back to A+ (Salem) and was poised to show them again that he could pitch at a higher level. He did that and then some, earning a promotion back to Double-A a month into the season. His numbers in Double-A were nothing shy of phenomenal. He posted a 1.59 ERA with opponents hitting .162 off him. He then faced another obstacle, when in the middle of his career-best year, he went down with an injury. He spent a month rehabbing in Florida at the Red Sox minor league complex before he was sent to Lowell, Massachusetts on a rehab assignment to pitch for the Lowell Spinners, where he started his career back in 2015. Looking out onto the Merrimack River, just over the right-field wall at Edward A. LeLacheur Park, home of the Spinners, represents more to Jake than most. It represents the path he has come down since his pro career was set into motion, one filled with adversity.

The grind of the minor leagues has taken its toll on Cosart. Coming out of college, the Texas native wanted to skip the minor league process and see the big league lights. He soon learned that there is more to baseball than the big leagues. He has embraced that and recognized that. Jake knows that when he achieves his big league goals, it will all be worth it.

“You get humbled…you get a little frustrated when your younger but when you get older, you realize all of it is greening you for when you get there (the MLB),” Cosart says. “I don’t care when I get there as long as when I get there I’m ready.”

Going through the minor league process is tough for all young ballplayers. It’s even tougher when you’re in a situation like Jake. Jarred Cosart, Jake’s eldest brother, has pitched five years in the majors and was most recently with the San Diego Padres. It has given Jake a few extra eyes and expectations, putting some more pressure on him.

“(I want to) just get healthy and head home,” The right-handed pitcher says. There is only less than a week left before the conclusion of the season, but Cosart may have some time before he heads home. That’s because the Spinners are in the midst of a New York-Penn League Championship race. “Its good to be part of a playoff run. I’ve played for five years and never made a playoff run, so it will be fun.”

The Spinners will play their first playoff game on September 4th in Batavia, NY.