EVERETT — Alvin Davis was already out of baseball by the time Jordan Cowan was born in 1995. But Cowan, who grew up in Covington as a Seattle Mariners fan before being drafted by his hometown team, knows enough to respect the advice posed by the man known throughout the organization as “Mr. Mariner.”
Davis, now a roving instructor in the Mariners organization, had some words last week that resonated with Cowan, who was in his third season with the Everett AquaSox.
“(Davis said) ‘Wherever you are, that’s your big leagues, and you just have to treat it like that and it doesn’t matter where you are,’” Cowan said. “You have to stick with your process and you have to believe in it and that’s what I’ve been able to do so far. I’m just trying to keep that going and just get good pitches to hit and help the team win.”
The AquaSox return home tonight to open a five-game series with the Eugene Emeralds, but Cowan won’t be with them. The former Kentlake High School standout is one step closer to his dream of playing in the big leagues, having been promoted to the Bakersfield Blaze, the Mariners’ Advanced Class A affiliate, following Friday’s game at Tri-City.
The baseball equivalent of a gym rat, Cowan was a fixture on the Everett Memorial Stadium infield following batting practice. He frequently took extra ground balls with the coaching staff and hit off the tee with hitting coach Brian Hunter.
“I’ve always been like that,” he said. “It’s how my dad raised me and it’s just the style I play, just grind it out every day.”
Cowan earned his promotion by hitting .370 with a .473 on-base percentage and .522 slugging percentage in a dozen games with the Frogs. He belted his first home run of the season last week in Spokane, and drove in six runs to go along with four doubles and three stolen bases.
The middle infielder is yet another example of the fluidity of minor-league rosters. He’s already the fourth AquaSox player to move up since the short-season schedule began June 17.
Gus Craig never even played a game in Everett before he was promoted to Class A Clinton of the Midwest League. Craig hit. .286/.370/.571 with three extra base hits, including a home run, in Everett’s first six games, all on the road.
Reliever Marvin Gorgas was bumped up to Bakersfield after striking out seven and retiring all 16 hitters he faced in three appearances on the same season-opening road trip. Gorgas has since returned to Everett.
And Luiz Gohara, one of the Mariners’ top pitching prospects, was called up to Clinton after fashioning a 2-0 record and a 1.76 earned-run average and 21 strikeouts in three starts with Everett.
Why have so many players moved up? Well, it’s likely the fact they’re producing. Entering Sunday’s game at Tri-City, the AquaSox led the Northwest League in hitting (.267), were second in on-base percentage (.335) and OPS (.692).
“It’s the talent, man, and everyone is just buying into the process and making sure they’re getting their pitch to hit and everyone’s trying to keep the line going,” Cowan said. “It’s making sure we’re swinging at strikes, having fun up there and doing a good job one pitch at a time.”
Cowan may have moved on, but it might not be the final time he suits up in the Pacific Northwest. He just hopes the next time is at Class AAA Tacoma or with the Mariners at Safeco Field.
“Being taken by your hometown team, it can’t get much better than that,” he said. “It was a dream come true and I’m glad it happened.”
For the latest AquaSox news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse.
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