Phillies: The rise and fall of Bash Brother Dylan Cozens

Dylan Cozens storied but ultimately unsuccessful career with the Phillies came to an end after being released by the team Saturday.

The Phillies made some seemingly unimpactful moves Saturday afternoon, one of which was unconditionally releasing outfielder Dylan Cozens. He was once considered one of the best bats in the organization; now, he is out of it entirely.

Philadelphia drafted Cozens in the second round of the 2012 draft out of high school while the minor-league system was at its lowest point. He was a prospect almost entirely for his big bat while the team hoped he could stick in the outfield rather than move to first base.

Cozens hit reasonably well in his first few years in the minor leagues, but his significant raw power hadn’t shown up in games. He was only hitting one home run every 27 at-bats at most during his first four minor-league seasons.

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Cozens took his first big step upon reaching Double-A Reading at the end of the 2015 season. In 11 games, he hit three home runs, drove in nine runs, and posted a 1.011 OPS. It wasn’t much of a sample size, but it turned out to be the precursor to the high point of Cozens’ career as a Phillie.

Rhys Hoskins and Cozens combined forces in 2016 to produce some of the best offensive seasons in Phillies minor-league history. They took advantage of Reading’s friendly confines to hit a combined 78 home runs as Cozens led all of the minor-leagues with 40. Those combined with his 106 runs batted in and .941 OPS led to Cozens being ranked the No. 10 prospect in the system by Baseball America after the season.

However, this season did not come without flaws emerging, the most crucial one being strikeouts. Cozens struck out in 31.7% of his plate appearances in 2016, striking out 186 times altogether. This was not an issue Hoskins had to deal with, making him the better prospect.

The difference between the two quickly emerged as they reached Triple-A in 2017. While Hoskins continued to slug, Cozens’s strikeout issues were exacerbated even further. He struck out 194 times in 135 games, an astonishing 35.8% strikeout rate. He still hit 27 home runs, but his batting average fell to a paltry .210.

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Cozens’s overall offensive numbers increased upon returning to Triple-A as he hit 21 home runs in 88 games, but his strikeout rate was still quite bad. Major-league pitchers thoroughly exploited him when he made it to the major-leagues as he struck out 24 times in 44 plate appearances, more than half.

This year, Cozens continued to struggle, hitting just .167 with a 42.4% strikeout rate in 23 Triple-A games.

Cozens hit the injured list and eventually underwent surgery foot, costing him potentially the entire 2019 season.

With a playoff push coming, the Phillies don’t have time to wait and hope Cozens can figure things out. He was designated for assignment on Wednesday when the team traded for Corey Dickerson. Dickerson likely will have more of an impact this year than Cozens ever will, even if it’s only for the final two months of this season.

If there’s anything to learn from Cozens’s rise and fall, it’s how much plate discipline can impact a player. If you have it, you can become a star like Hoskins. If not, you will be hoping to scrape by and find a contract somewhere sooner or later.