[medford]

I didn't see this thread the first time around, but I'll say here what I would have said then and what I've said in the minor league forum. I've been a big fan of Cozart since I saw him play for the Dragons. My wife's friend got tickets from work shortly after our son was born. She told us to get the heck out of the house, gave us the tickets and watched our son while we took in the game/dinner. Cozart had the rep as an all glove-no stick SS, and even then, its not like his glove rep was over the top, just a guy they thought could stick there if his bat took him to the majors. I didn't get to see him doing anything but the routine in the field that night, but at the plate he impressed me greatly. I think he picked up 2 hits (single/double), moved the runner over on a hit into the 2b hole, and struk out the other plate apperance that we saw. But it wasn't the single, or the double or the hit to the right side of the infield to move the runner to 3rd that impressed me specifically, it was his approach at the plate. Each time up, he appeared to be a guy that knew what he could do, and what he should do each time up at the plate depending on the situation. No swinging from the heels, no chasing balls out of the zone, fouling off a couple of pitches on the edges with 2 strikes, etc... I came away thinking Cozart's approach was exactly what I'd like to see out of my 2 hole hitter and was certain he had a great shot at making and sticking in the show in a few seasons.

I believe Cozart saw some struggles the following season, but from that point forward has been rock steady at every step along the way. I was perfectly comfortable (assuming he was 100% recovered from his injury) w/ handing him the SS job and the 2 hole job. I really don't think what he's done in his limited ML time to date is a fluke. Sure he'll see some struggles as the book gets out on him more and more, but I don't think he's going to be the kind of guy that goes into prolonged slumps.