Hometown ties add motivation to Cosart

How does it happen that a 38th round pick becomes the top prospect for an organization? In the case of pitcher Jarred Cosart, it's not due to a sudden, completely unexpected meteoric rise through the minor league system. Cosart should have been a much higher pick. "A lot of it was the sign-ability issue," said Cosart. "I was going to Missouri and I was probably going to start in right field as a freshman. Pitching wise, I was just an arm. All the scouts told me they really thought that I wanted to go to college. For some reason that got instilled in their head and that scared teams off, I guess." The Phillies took a chance on Cosart in 2008 as a pitcher despite the fact that he had only thrown 30 or so innings at Clear Creek High School. "When the Phillies called, I was like, 'Thanks, but no thanks,' Cosart said. Yet Philadelphia was able to convince the then 17 year old to sign at the deadline for draft picks. Cosart, 21, joined the Astros last summer as part of the Hunter Pence trade which also netted Houston hitter Jonathan Singleton. The Astros now consider Cosart their top prospect and MLB.com recently listed him No. 61 among baseball's top 100 prospects. (Singleton was ranked No. 44 on the list). Cosart's stuff is described by scouts as "electric," meaning a fastball which hits the upper 90's and a nasty curveball. In 36-plus innings at AA Corpus Christi last summer, Cosart allowed 19 earned runs and struck out 22 batters. But he had a span of nearly 30 innings in which he allowed only three earned runs. He is considered front-of-the-rotation material. Cosart was born in League City and grew up an avid Astros fan. So getting traded to the Astros last year created quite the buzz in the community. "For me, having family and friends I grew up with within twenty minutes of (Minute Maid) will be great when I do get a chance to play here," said Cosart. Cosart is unlikely to get that opportunity immediately out of spring training this year. Even he admits that he simply needs more seasoning as a professional pitcher. "I want to make the team," said Cosart. "But I wouldn't give myself a legitimate shot. I'm still young, I have things to work on but I'm going in there with the mindset that I'm going to make the team." Cosart has been working out at Minute Maid this winter, specifically picking the brain of current big leaguer Bud Norris. And being a 38th round pick provides the extra motivation. "You look at the success rate of (late round picks)," Cosart said. "Aside from Mark Buehrle, who's the only guy I can think of that went that late in the draft and has been really successful, you use that as motivation each day to get better and to prove all those teams that passed you up for 37 rounds wrong." Cosart has undergone a transformation from afterthought in the draft to one of the top prospects in the game. "I take that as an honor," Cosart said. "Now for me it's just about proving that I am that guy, that I am the top prospect, that I have that ability. It's all about the Major Leagues, regardless of what anyone says. We're all down there trying to make our way here."