Cozens finding power stroke in Phillies' system
READING, Pa. - Dylan Cozens looks like a football player. He is 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds. The hulking rightfielder is the tallest position player in the entire Phillies organization. And for a moment, it seemed as if football was where he was headed.
READING, Pa. - Dylan Cozens looks like a football player. He is 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds. The hulking rightfielder is the tallest position player in the entire Phillies organization. And for a moment, it seemed as if football was where he was headed.
Cozens played just one season of high school football. Randy Cozens wanted to keep his son off the gridiron after a pair of knee surgeries in the late 1970s ruined his NFL career before he even played a regular-season snap with the Denver Broncos.
One season of football - his senior year at Chaparral High in Scottsdale, Ariz. - proved to be all Dylan Cozens needed. The athletic defensive end attracted the attention of a slew of major colleges before he signed in February 2012 with the University of Arizona.
Cozens, who was a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com, had to make a decision four months later. The Phillies drafted him that June in the second round. He could play college football, which his father did at the University of Pittsburgh, or follow his first passion and join the Phillies.
Cozens chose baseball. He started his professional career a week later, leaving football in the past.
"It was a pretty easy choice," Cozens said. "I didn't have the love for football like I do for baseball. I still had a ton of fun with it. It kind of came natural to me. I definitely miss it, but choosing baseball wasn't hard."
The Phillies were attracted to Cozens' power-hitting potential when they drafted him. He had crushed home runs at Citizens Bank Park during a predraft workout. Cozens hit 19 homers as a high school senior. Ruben Amaro Jr. - then the team's general manager - said Cozens' power hitting was "extraordinary."
It was not until last season that Cozens started to display that ability. The lefthanded batter smacked 16 extra-base hits in the season's final 41 games at high-A Clearwater. Cozens, who turns 22 in May, shone when the Phillies promoted him to double-A Reading for the final two weeks of 2015. He crushed three homers and drove in nine runs in 11 games. It was a taste of what he could do.
Cozens returned to Reading this season and entered Friday with three doubles, two homers, and seven RBIs in his first week. Joe Jordan, the Phillies' director of player development, said Cozens' success was the result of his becoming a better hitter. His size and swing will give him power as he begins to find consistent contact.
"I think what happened last year, we came up with one main goal. And that was to become a better hitter. Just learn to hit," Jordan said. "Things are starting to make sense to him. He's starting to look the part. He'll concentrate on becoming a better hitter, and he'll have power."
Randy Cozens raced home from work Wednesday to get to his computer and watch his son play across the country in Reading. He watches each game from his Arizona home and texts bits of advice to his son.
Being able to see the games, Randy Cozens said, provides a sense of comfort. He was forced to rely on radio broadcasts when his son played at the minor leagues' lower levels. Dylan said his father has always been his "No. 1 coach-slash-critic."
"He pushes me harder than anyone and wants me to succeed just as bad as I do," Cozens said. "I feel like he's kind of living through me right now. Wishes he was doing what I was doing. He loves what I'm doing and supports what I'm doing. Always giving advice."
The father watched earlier this month when Cozens and a group of prospects played against the Phillies in an exhibition series. Cozens homered in the first game and displayed his strong arm in the second, firing a throw from right field to easily erase a runner at home.
The play was a good impression as the Phillies continue to push him to work on his defense. Cozens is athletic and quick. The same speed that helped him rush the passer as a defensive end allows him to cover ground in the outfield.
The impressive throw from right field came at Citizens Bank Park, where Cozens hopes to play one day. And his father said he was just waiting to book a flight to Philadelphia. Cozens would then be a major-league ballplayer, confirming that he made the right decision.
"It's exciting," Randy Cozens said. "I'm so proud of my kid. Dylan has power. Everyone knows that. I hope that this is a sign of what's to come. Once he starts making more contact, the home runs will come. He's the type of player that Philly will love."
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