TCB March Madness 2013: Nate Freiman vs Jarred Cosart

TCB's Astros Fan Favorite March Madness Tournament is underway. From now until the end of Spring Training 64 players will spend the next several weeks facing off in a head to head public vote to determine who advances to the next round and who will eventually be crowned the communities favorite Astros player. For more details click here for the introductory post.

The rules are simple determine which player you want to advance to the next by voting for that player. Any excellent arguments made for an advancing player in the comments below may be used in the players description for the next round. Vote subjectively, objectively or by using your trusty magic eight ball. Votes will last exactly 24 hours.

In this match-up:

30 - Nate Freiman

If we put the four first base/designated hitter candidates on a scale of most likely to make contact to least likely, Freiman has to rank as the most likely. He's made consistent contact throughout his minor league career, despite being a baseball giant with a huge strike zone. Still, he never struck out more than 20 percent of the time at any minor league level and walks right around 9-10 percent of the time. If there's a knock against him it's he's the last of that first base group in terms of pure power (assuming Wally doesn't go Hulk this season). Freiman hit a career-best 24 home runs last season in 581 PAs for the Padres Double-A affiliate. He'll need to do better than that to hold onto a roster spot with Houston. -David

Vs

35 - Jarred Cosart

The poster boy for the Ed Wade Era could easily be Cosart, as a toolsy guy who has never really seen that translate into professional success. His tools have wowed scouts for years and impressed everyone at the annual Futures Game. After all that waiting, the future appears to be now, as Cosart should break into the big leagues sometime in 2013. Though he's never become that front-line starter he was projected to be based on his stuff, Cosart could be exactly what the Houston front office wants in a pitcher. He's a strikeout guy with good stuff who also generates a ton of ground balls. He doesn't strike out guys at a Verlander-esque level, but he does good enough when paired with his ground ball tendency. Cosart should start the season in the minors, but could be the first call-up from OKC in the event of an injury. -David