American baseball player (born 1994)
Baseball player
Dylan Wallace Cozens
(pronounced KUH-zins;
[1]
[2]
born May 31, 1994) is an American former
professional baseball
outfielder
. He was a second round pick (77th overall) in the
2012 MLB draft
. He played in
Major League Baseball
(MLB) for the
Philadelphia Phillies
.
[1]
Early life
[
edit
]
Cozens was born in
Scottsdale, Arizona
. His father Randy played football for four years as a defensive lineman at the University of Pittsburgh, and was drafted in the 17th round of the
1976 NFL Draft
by the Denver Broncos, but never played for them.
[3]
[4]
Cozens initially attended
Desert Mountain High School
in Arizona, but was suspended midway through his junior year for an altercation with his baseball coach. Baseball writer
Keith Law
reported that Cozens "shoved his coach and told him to 'f off' in the dugout during a game, so he was kicked off the team - the culmination of a series of incidents that turned many scouts off him, one even calling him a 'bully'".
[5]
That led to Cozens transferring to
Chaparral High School
.
[6]
Due to his transfer, Cozens was forced to sit out the rest of his junior season due to eligibility restrictions.
[7]
As a senior, Cozens posted a .520
batting average
, and hit 19
home runs
, in 33 games, breaking the school's single-season record, formerly held by longtime
Chicago White Sox
first baseman
Paul Konerko
. His 19 home runs led the state and were second nationally only to the 21 hit by future major leaguer
Joey Gallo
.
[8]
He ended the season by hitting a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning of the Division I state championship, winning the title.
[9]
[10]
He played that season alongside future
Team Israel
outfielder/first baseman
Jeremy Wolf
.
[11]
Cozens' also was a standout
defensive end
on Chaparral's football team and verbally committed to play for the
Arizona Wildcats football
team before opting to sign with the Phillies.
[9]
Career
[
edit
]
Philadelphia Phillies
[
edit
]
As a scout for the
Philadelphia Phillies
, Marti Wolever, among other representatives of the organization, evaluated Cozens before the
2012 MLB draft
and watched him during a workout at
Citizens Bank Park
. Though there were some concerns about Cozens’ temperament, the Phillies selected him in the second round with the 77th overall selection of the draft, and he signed a contract with a $659,800
signing bonus
.
[12]
"That was probably the guy I was most excited about", said Phillies
general manager
Ruben Amaro Jr.
, "Extraordinary power for a kid -- great body, runs well, seems to move pretty well".
[12]
Cozens began the
2012
season with the
Gulf Coast Phillies
of the
Rookie-level
Gulf Coast League
. In 50 games, he batted .255 with five home runs and 24
runs batted in
(RBIs).
[13]
The Phillies promoted Cozens to the
Williamsport Crosscutters
of the
Class A-Short Season
New York?Penn League
the following year. He finished the season second in the league in
doubles
(19),
extra base hits
(30), and
runs
(50) while also ranking third in
slugging percentage
(.469).
[14]
Cozens struck out 147 times in his first full season of professional baseball for the
Lakewood BlueClaws
of the
Class A
South Atlantic League
.
[15]
In 2015, he shared time with the Blueclaws and the
Reading Fightin' Phils
of the
Class AA
Eastern League
.
[15]
[16]
During the Fightin Phils'
2016
season, Cozens hit 40 home runs, the most by any Eastern Leaguer since
Ron Kittle
in
1981
, topping the team's single-season record set by
Darin Ruf
four years prior, and earning him the
Joe Bauman Home Run Award
for the most home runs on the season by a minor leaguer; he led the league in runs scored (106), extra-base hits (81), total bases (308), doubles (38), RBIs (125) and slugging percentage (.591).
[17]
[18]
[19]
His production helped the team finish with a league-best 89-52 record.
[20]
However, Cozens batted just .197 off left-handed pitching, and struggled to make contact, striking out a league-leading 186 times, in 521 at-bats.
[21]
[22]
MLB.com
ranked him as the seventh-best prospect in the Phillies
farm system
and the Phils added Cozens to their
40-man roster
.
[23]
Cozens spent the
2017
season with the
Lehigh Valley IronPigs
of the
Class AAA
International League
, where he struggled to make contact consistently; Cozens batted .210, with 27 home runs, and 75 RBIs, but led the league with 194 strikeouts.
[16]
[24]
He was named an International League All Star.
[16]
The emergence of
Rhys Hoskins
and Cozens' high strikeout ratio dashed his opportunity to obtain a spot on the Phillies'
Opening Day
roster, in 2018.
[25]
He began the 2018 season with Lehigh Valley, with whom he batted .246/.345/.529 with 21 home runs (tied for 3rd in International League), and 58 RBIs, in 348 at bats.
[1]
[26]
Cozens was the International League Batter of the Week and Phillies Minor League Player of the Week for July 23?29.
[1]
In 2019 Cozens started the season with Lehigh Valley, but his season was believed to have ended early due to foot surgery in May to remove a
bone spur
and repair
cartilage
in his left big toe.
[27]
[28]
[29]
He batted .167/.333/.462 with six home runs and five steals in 78 at bats before he was injured.
[27]
He was
designated for assignment
by the Phillies on July 31.
[30]
Major leagues
[
edit
]
Cozens was promoted to the Major Leagues on May 31, 2018, to replace Hoskins while he was on the
disabled list
.
[31]
Cozens debuted on June 1, against the
San Francisco Giants
and recorded his first major league hit in the same game, hitting a single on the first pitch he saw (becoming the first Phillie to get his first major league hit on the first pitch he saw since
Steve Montgomery
on June 11, 1999).
[1]
[32]
Cozens hit his first big league home run on June 7 against
Chicago Cubs
reliever
Brandon Morrow
.
[33]
He was recalled as a September call up (when MLB rosters expanded), on September 1.
[34]
In 2018, Cozens batted .158/.273/.289 in 38 at bats for the Phillies with a home run, a stolen base, and two RBIs.
[1]
In 2019 Cozens batted .167/.333/.462 with six home runs and 15 RBIs and 42 strikeouts in 78 at bats for Lehigh Valley, and had one hitless at bat for the Phillies, before he was injured and ultimately designated for assignment on July 31.
[35]
[30]
He was released on August 1.
Tampa Bay Rays
[
edit
]
On August 10, 2019, Cozens signed a two-year minor league contract with the
Tampa Bay Rays
and was assigned to the AAA
Durham Bulls
, and was placed back on the injured list. He returned to action on a four-game rehab assignment with the
GCL Rays
on August 22, then returned from the injured list on August 31, debuting for Durham the following day and playing two games with them.
Cozens did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the
COVID-19 pandemic
.
[36]
He became a free agent on November 2, 2020.
Milwaukee Brewers
[
edit
]
On December 17, 2020, Cozens signed a minor league contract with the
Milwaukee Brewers
organization.
[37]
Cozens announced his retirement on June 22, 2021, in order to pursue a career in professional football. He stated that he was going to "chase my dream of playing in the NFL (
National Football League
)".
[38]
Cozens worked out for the
New England Patriots
on August 5, 2021.
[39]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"Dylan Cozens Stats"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Sports Reference LLC. 2019
. Retrieved
April 17,
2019
.
- ^
"Dylan Cozens Stats, Fantasy & News"
.
MLB.com
. Major League Baseball. 2019
. Retrieved
April 17,
2019
.
- ^
Webeck, Evan (2018-05-24).
"Dylan Cozens couples power and athleticism"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
June 2,
2018
.
- ^
"1976 Denver Broncos Draftees"
.
Pro-Football-Reference.com
. Sports Reference LLC. 2019
. Retrieved
April 18,
2019
.
- ^
"Chat with Keith Law - SportsNation"
. ESPN
. Retrieved
June 2,
2018
.
- ^
Lovano, Nick (6 March 2013).
"Phillies Dylan Cozens Overcomes High School Indiscretion"
.
Toronto Observer
. Retrieved
May 5,
2017
.
- ^
Odegard, Kyle.
"Tribune Baseball Player of the Year: Dylan Cozens | VarsityXtra"
. eastvalleytribune.com
. Retrieved
June 2,
2018
.
- ^
"Chaparral slugger Cozens named player of the year"
. ahwatukee.com. June 23, 2012
. Retrieved
June 2,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Ignelzi, Lenny.
"Dylan Cozens traded Arizona football for a diamond, and he's shining"
.
Arizona Daily Star
. Retrieved
May 5,
2017
.
- ^
Garcia, Jose.
"Phillies Draft Dylan Cozens"
.
The Arizona Republic
. Retrieved
May 5,
2017
.
- ^
Odegard, Kyle (May 15, 2012).
"Dylan Cozens' walk-off homer lifts Chaparral to state title over Brophy"
.
East Valley Tribune
.
- ^
a
b
Kaplan, Jake.
"Phils pick Cozens has 'extraordinary power'
"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
May 5,
2017
.
- ^
"Dylan Cozens"
. Phuture Phillies. 16 October 2012
. Retrieved
May 5,
2017
.
- ^
Floyd, Jay.
"Prospect Nation 2016: #16 OF Dylan Cozens"
. Phillies Nation
. Retrieved
May 5,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
Apter, Brandon.
"Dylan Cozens Displaying Improved Approach"
. Philadelphia.com
. Retrieved
May 5,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Dylan Cozens Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB"
.
Milb.com
. Minor League Baseball. 2019
. Retrieved
April 17,
2019
.
- ^
Kraft, Alex.
"Minors' home run king Cozens belts 40th"
. MiLB.com
. Retrieved
May 9,
2017
.
- ^
"Dylan Cozens Named Eastern League MVP"
. MiLB.com
. Retrieved
May 9,
2017
.
- ^
Salisbury, Jim (December 5, 2016).
"Phillies prospect Dylan Cozens honored with Joe Bauman Award"
.
NBC Sports
. Retrieved
June 7,
2018
.
- ^
Seidman, Cory.
"WITH 40 HR AND 125 RBIS, PHILLIES PROSPECT DYLAN COZENS NAMED EASTERN LEAGUE MVP"
. Retrieved
May 5,
2017
.
- ^
Sickles, John.
"Thoughts on Dylan Cozens"
. MiLB.com
. Retrieved
May 5,
2017
.
- ^
"All Minor Leagues Leaderboards ≫ 2017 ≫ Batters ≫ Advanced Statistics" | FanGraphs Baseball
- ^
"Phillies Add Dylan Cozens to 40-Man Roster"
.
CBS
. Retrieved
May 5,
2017
.
- ^
"All Minor Leagues Leaderboards ≫ 2016 ≫ Batters ≫ Advanced Statistics" | FanGraphs Baseball
- ^
Gross, Stephen (March 20, 2018).
"Dylan Cozens has work to do with Lehigh Valley IronPigs in 2018"
. Retrieved
May 4,
2018
.
- ^
"International League 2019 Batting Leaders" | International League Stats
- ^
a
b
"Dylan Cozens Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History" | Baseball-Reference.com
- ^
"Phillies prospect Dylan Cozens out for the year, future in doubt"
- ^
"The Phillies didn’t sign Dallas Keuchel, but that’s OK"
- ^
a
b
"Phillies' Dylan Cozens: Designated for assignment" - CBSSports.com
- ^
"Phillies are calling Dylan Cozens up to majors"
.
NBC Sports Philadelphia
. Retrieved
May 31,
2018
.
- ^
"Philadelphia Phillies at San Francisco Giants Box Score, June 1, 2018"
.
- ^
"Heyward hits walk-off slam in 9th, Cubs beat Phillies 7-5"
.
ESPN.com
. Associated Press. June 7, 2018.
- ^
"Twitter"
.
mobile.twitter.com
. Retrieved
2018-09-01
.
- ^
"Dylan Cozens Stats" | Baseball-Reference.com
- ^
"2020 Minor League Season Canceled"
.
- ^
"Brewers Sign Hoby Milner, Dylan Cozens to Minor League Deals"
.
- ^
Lauber, Scott (June 22, 2021).
"Former Phillies prospect Dylan Cozens quits baseball to chase NFL dream"
.
Philadelphia Inquirer
. Retrieved
August 6,
2021
.
- ^
"Quarterback, Former Baseball Player Among 5 Players Who Worked Out For Patriots On Thursday"
.
CBS Boston
. August 6, 2021
. Retrieved
August 6,
2021
.
External links
[
edit
]