Next stop in Somerset? Yankees 'hard-nosed' prospect getting on base at an impressive clip
WAPPINGERS FALLS, N.Y. – Cooper Bowman has never been a stranger to having attention on him for all the right reasons.
Most recently, you might remember him hitting a big Grapefruit League home run this spring training for the New York Yankees, arguably his biggest moment yet as a member of the organization that drafted him in the fourth round just last year.
“It was just cool to experience that, and then have family and friends back home who could see it for the first time all year, because nothing else in spring training is televised,” he said. “But, at the end of the day, it’s just kind of another at-bat, and I’ve got to move past it, no matter how cool it was.”
These days, he’s doing that with the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades, one stop away from TD Bank Ballpark with the Somerset Patriots, a likely destination for the skilled middle infielder by the time the season is over. The 22-year-old is hitting .238 with five home runs and 22 RBI in his first 41 games this year and has drawn an impressive 32 walks in his first 180 plate appearances.
“You talk about guys that could play in any era, he kind of reminds of you of that ‘50s or ‘60s dude that’s got his nose in the dirt at all times,” said Renegades manager Tyson Blaser. “He’s a hard-nosed player, and then you couple that with the talent he has, the speed he has and the ability to hit and hit with power and hit the ball hard, and he’s an exciting player.”
The road to get to this point was a bit of a circuitous one for the affable 6-foot, 205-pounder. A native of Rapid City, South Dakota, getting seen in an area that few scouts are even aware exists was certainly a challenge.
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“We don’t play high school ball, it’s Legion only, so you play May to August, and that’s what you get,” he said. “Come time to produce, you’ve got to produce. It’s a lot of extra work, I suppose, but everyone does it up there. It’s not just me. Baseball’s huge up there and no one realizes it because no one scouts the area. But there’s a ton of ballplayers up there. You play all year up there.”
Bowman was one of a few to find his ticket out, originally committing to the University of Hawaii, but ended up decommitting following a coaching change and going the junior college route at Iowa Western Community College before eventually making his way to the University of Louisville for the 2021 season. To finally get an opportunity at a big program and get to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference was just the opportunity he needed; he hit .293 with eight home runs, 22 RBI and 20 stolen bases, earning second team all-conference honors along the way to getting drafted.
“That was huge, that was my first time being on a national level I guess you could say,” he said. “At a school like Iowa Western, you’re not in the eyes of a lot of people, so that was different. After my freshman year there, we went to the World Series and got runner-up, and just being an everyday guy on that team brings attention to you in itself. And then going into a sophomore season with a loaded team, a lot of scouts were coming, and I felt like that’s when I had that realization that maybe I could do this for a living.”
Bowman said getting the call from the 27-time World Series champs on draft day was a “dream come true,” and his whole family grew up Yankees fans out in South Dakota. If things keep heading in the right direction, one day they’ll get to visit him in the Bronx.
He just isn’t thinking that far ahead just yet.
“If you’re only thinking about the Bronx, you’re not going to get to the Bronx. You’ve got to conquer Hudson Valley first,” he said.
“There’s no other organization I’d rather be with. There’s been ups and downs so far, and ideally, you have more ups than downs. But it’s early and there’s a lot of time left, so there’s a lot of ground to make up and a lot of improvements to make. I can’t complain. I love it so far. I guess you could say there’s pressure, but I’ve never really thought about it like that. I feel like I’m made for it, that I’m made to play baseball. It’s what I do, it’s all I do. If you’re not looking for this kind of pressure, then you’re not a Yankee.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: New York Yankees: Cooper Bowman impressive with High-A Hudson Valley
