All-Time Top 100 Marlins: #99 Jarred Cosart

This offseason, we will be counting down the 100 most impactful on-the-field players to have appeared in a major league game with the Marlins. Yesterday, we had a look back at inaugural season reliever Matt Turner. Today, we'll review a pitcher who was just two years old when Turner threw his first major league pitch.

Jarred Cosart (follow him at @JarredCosart), is a 6'3", 205 lb. right-handed pitcher from League City, Texas. A major league legacy, he was preceded in the majors by his grandfather, Ed Donnelly, who pitched in nine games for the 1959 Chicago Cubs. Born on May 25th, 1990, he attended Clear Creek High School in his hometown, and was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 38th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball amateur draft. He signed with the team in August, and reported to the Gulf Coast League (rookie-level) Phillies for the 2009 campaign. In seven games, five of which were starts, Cosart went 2-2 with a 2.96 ERA, a 0.781 WHIP, and 25 whiffs in just 24.1 innings pitched.

2010 would see Cosart graduate to the single-A level with the South Atlantic League Phillies affiliate, the Lakewood BlueClaws, and post a 7-3 record with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.065 WHIP over 14 starts, striking out 77 in 71.1 innings. His stellar play demanded another promotion in 2011, which would see the then #70 ranked Baseball America prospect Cosart with the Clearwater Phillies in the high-A Florida State League. After going 9-8 with a 3.92 ERA, 79 whiffs in 108 innings, and a 1.306 WHIP over 26 starts, the Phils sent him to the Houston Astros with Jon Singleton, Josh Zeid, and a PTBNL (Domingo Santana) for Hunter Pence and cash. Cosart closed out his campaign that season at the double-A level with the Corpus Christi Hooks in the Texas League, posting a 1-2 record, a 4.71 ERA, and a 1.266 WHIP over seven starts, striking out 22 in 36.1 innings.

Prior to the 2012 season, Cosart would find himself ranked # 50 by Baseball America, #61 by MLB.COM, and #48 by Baseball Prospectus. He continued to impress to begin the season, which would see him start 15 games for the Hooks and go 5-5 with a 3.52 ERA, a 1.391 WHIP, and 68 K's in 87 innings. His inevitable promotion to the triple-A Oklahoma City RedHawks in the Pacific Coast League would result in a 1-2 record, a 2.60 ERA, a 1.410 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts in 27.2 innings pitched to close out the season.

In 2013, Cosart started out the season ranked #89 by MLB.COM, and found himself back with the RedHawks. He would post a 7-4 record with a 3.29 ERA, a strikeout per inning over 93.0 innings pitched, and a 1.333 WHIP over 17 starts. He earned himself a callup to the Astros in July, and started 10 games for the club down the stretch. He posted a 1.95 ERA, but only earned two decisions, going 1-1 with 33 whiffs in 60 innings and a 1.350 WHIP.

Cosart opened the 2014 season as the #2 starter in the Astros rotation, and ended up going 9-7 in 20 starts, with a 4.41 ERA, a 1.461 WHIP, and 75 strikeouts in 116.1 innings pitched. As part of a trade deadline deal, the Astros traded him with Austin Wates and Enrique Hernandez to the Marlins for Francis Martes, Jake Marisnick, and Colin Moran.

Cosart jumped directly into Miami's rotation, getting 10 starts over the last two months of the season. In his second appearance, on August 12th, he pitched seven innings of shutout three-hit ball and earned a 3-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals (see below). Over 64 innings, he allowed only 12 extra base hits, pitching to a 4-4 record, a team-second 2.39 ERA, 40 strikeouts in 64 innings, and a team-second 1.188 WHIP to his credit. Although his whiff-rate was frightfully low (5.6K's over nine IP), he finished fourth on the club with 7.6 H/9 allowed.

Cosart started 2015 as Miami's #5 rotation starter, and he took seven turns through May 13th, going 1-3 with a 4.08 ERA, holding opposing batters to a .221 average, and striking out 24 in 39.1 innings. On April 27th, he pitched eight innings of two-hit shutout ball against the New York Mets (below). Unfortunately, Steve Cishek gave a three-run shot to Daniel Murphy in the ninth to blow Cosart's would-be second win of the season. After his seventh start, the Marlins sent him to the 15-Day disabled list due to persistent vertigo.

The inner-ear disorder is causing a nerve on his right side to be less responsive than his left side. The impacted nerve, Cosart says, affects "balance and gravity."

Being able to pinpoint the issue has been a relief for the Texas native, who is confident his recovery shouldn't be a long process.

Cosart started twice more near the end of June, and got shelled for 10 hits and nine earned runs over 5.2 innings before going back on rehab. He rejoined the rotation in September, and went 1-1 over five starts (Miami won his three no-decisions) with a 2.96 ERA. When all was said and done, Cosart had himself a 2-5 season, with a 4.52 ERA over 13 starts. He struck out 47 in 69.2 innings, and earned a 1.378 WHIP.

2016 would see Cosart begin the season as Miami's number five starter for the second consecutive season, and go just 0-1 over three April starts. He earned a 7.98 ERA and allowed 16 hits and 15 walks over 14.2 innings, striking out just eight opponents and allowing a .281 batting average. After three months slogging away in Miami's minor league system, he came back for his best start of the season on July 25th, allowing three hits over five shutout innings (below) in an eventual 4-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Marlins decided four days later that they had seen all they needed of Cosart, and sent him to the San Diego Padres with Luis Castillo, Josh Naylor, and Carter Capps for Andrew Cashner, Tayron Guerrero, and Colin Rea.

Cosart started nine games for the Padres to close out the season, going 0-3 with a 6.03 ERA and a 1.741 WHIP. On September 24th, he was taken out of an eventual 9-6 loss to the San Francisco Giants with an elbow injury. He is currently under team control for the Padres for the next three seasons.

Check back here tomorrow for the #98 player on Miami’s all-time HeroBoard, a current member of the team.