Houston Astros: What Happened to Jarred Cosart?

The former Houston Astros prospect was projected to be the next star pitcher in the rotation. But injuries overtook his career and now he’s out of baseball.

You may not have heard Jarred Cosart’s name in awhile, but the former Houston Astros pitcher was projected to be a future star. He was from League City, Texas and went to Clear Creek High School. He signed to play college ball at Missouri, but was selected in the 38th round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. He was Baseball America‘s No. 70 ranked prospect in 2011, and played in the Futures Game in the next two years.

But the Phillies had a stacked rotation in 2011 and traded the young righty along with Jon Singleton, Domingo Santana, and Josh Zeid to the Astros for Hunter Pence. At the time, it looked like an immaculate trade for the Astros.

In his first season with Houston, Cosart was electric. The right-hander posted a 1.95 ERA and was looking to be a long time ace for the Astros. But injury and disagreements with the organization led to him being dealt to Miami. The trade brought Jake Marisnick, Francis Martes, Colin Moran to Houston; Marisnick is a free agent, Martes is in the minors, and Moran is a Pirate.

Cosart’s final stats with the Astros – 10-8 record, 3.57 ERA and 1.423 WHIP – were not indicative of the star that the Astros and most baseball analysts predicted.

The Marlins brought in Cosart because they believed he could be an ideal compliment next to the late Jose Fernandez. Unfortunately, his struggles continued. His Miami tenure ended with a 6-10 record and an ERA of 3.82. Cosart was then traded to San Diego with others in 2016 for Andrew Cashner, Tayron Guerrero, Colin Rea and cash. His Miami stint lasted 16 games, going an uninspiring 0-5 with a 5.58 ERA.

In his first game in Houston, Cosart pitched 8+ innings with 2 strikeouts, giving up 2 hits, and walking 2 batters. After that, he fell off the map. It was never an issue if he wasn’t ready for the big leagues; he just never transferred over, which happens to many athletes. He’s been out of baseball since the Padres released him in 2017 and is now an energy/crude oil broker.