After a strong debut season in the independent Atlantic League, former Red Sox catching prospect Kole Cottam is looking to return to affiliated ball in 2024.
Cottam, a former fourth-round draft selection of the Red Sox coming out of Kentucky in 2018, asked for and was granted his release from the organization back in March. It was a difficult decision to make, but as the 26-year-old explained to Andrew Parker and Ed Hand on a recent episode of Beyond the Monster’s To The Show We Go Podcast, it allowed him to spend more time with his wife and newborn daughter as he explored the open market.
In search of a better opportunity elsewhere, Cottam ultimately signed with the Spire City Ghost Hounds, a newly-created ALPB club based in Frederick, Md., on March 20. The right-handed hitter got the chance to play everyday this season and made the most of it, batting a stout .290/.375/.578 with 24 doubles, 30 home runs, 75 RBIs, 65 runs scored, three stolen bases, 49 walks, and 90 strikeouts across 113 games spanning 455 plate appearances.
Playing alongside former big-leaguers such as Starlin Castro, Jimmy Paredes, Raudy Read, Jose Marmolejos, Moises Sierra, and Chris Shaw, Cottam was named a 2023 Atlantic League Postseason All-Star. He finished in a two-way tie for the third-most homers in the league and also posted the second-highest slugging percentage.
Defensively, Cottam made a team-leading 75 starts at catcher for Spire City this season. The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder logged 635 2/3 innings behind the plate and threw out 30 of 119 potential base stealers while allowing six passed ball. He also started 18 games at first base, where he committed only two errors in 139 total chances.
Shortly after the 2023 ALPB regular season drew to a close, the Ghost Hounds announced in late September that they would be taking a one-year hiatus in 2024. The decision allows the Atlantic League, which is welcoming a new club based out of Hagerstown, Md. to its lineup in the spring, to maintain an even number of teams (10) for scheduling purposes next season.
Even though the owners of the Ghost Hounds said in that same announcement that they expected to return to action in 2025, the ALPB still held a dispersal draft in November for players whose rights were previously held by Spire City. Cottam surely would have been part of that process based on the success he enjoyed this year, but his rights were actually traded to the Long Island Ducks in October.
In a recent exchange with BloggingtheRedSox.com, Cottam explained that he, like any other player who finished the season in the ALPB, is free to sign with an MLB (or any professional) team of his choosing right now. As such, the native Tennessean took to social media last month and posted a 47-second highlight reel featuring his best plays on both sides of the ball this year.
As of now, it remains to be seen how much interest Cottam is garnering from big-league clubs in minor-league free agency. The 2021 Arizona Fall League All-Star made it as far as Triple-A Worcester in his final season with the Red Sox and would provide his new organization with experienced catching depth.
That is an obvious area of need for all 30 teams, so one would have to assume that Cottam has a shot at landing a minor-league deal this winter. If things go in a different direction, however, and Cottam wants to play in the Atlantic League again next year, he would be in line do so for the Ducks since they currently own his rights.
(Picture of Kole Cottam: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
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