Gerrit Cole

The Yankees took Gerrit Cole with their first round draft pick today. Looks like Ted Berg and Jonathan Mayo pegged the right guy. Here’s the Baseball America skinny on Cole:

Cole is the best righthander out of Southern California since Phil Hughes starred at Santa Ana’s Foothills High in 2004. Cole’s four-seam fastball ranges from 93-96 mph, occasionally peaking at 97-98. He adds a hard, late-breaking curve which shows bite, tilt and depth. Cole used his changeup sparingly early in the season, though he used it more later. Adding to Cole’s considerable appeal to scouts is his tall, lanky and projectable frame, which is nearly ideal for a prep righthander. Scouts are split over whether Cole profiles as a starter or closer. He maintains velocity and pitch movement deep into games, but his inconsistent command and tendency to run up high pitch counts may move him to the bullpen. Some scouts have compared him to Mariners closer J.J. Putz. Cole does bring mechanical concerns. He lands on a stiff front leg, and he recoils his arm during his follow-through. Both hurt control and raise injury concerns. Complicating the situation, Cole’s adviser is the Scott Boras Corp., which may eliminate many clubs from consideration. Cole also hasn’t endeared himself to scouts or teammates with what one scout described as his immature mound demeanor.

Me? I would have passed on this one. Instead, I would have gone for Conor Gillaspie (or, if it had to be a pitcher, Shooter Hunt).

June 5, 2008 | Filed Under Off The Field News

Comments

9 Responses to “Gerrit Cole”

asdf on June 5th, 2008 7:26 pm

Is it because he was compared to Hughes?
Steve Lombardi on June 5th, 2008 8:52 pm

Mostly it’s because of his immature mound demeanor.
Zack on June 5th, 2008 10:00 pm

Are you kidding? A guy the scouts project as being Bill Mueller at best over a guy with a huge ceiling, an overpowering FB, and three plus pitches, all because he has “immature mound demeanor?” So does Josh Beckett…

You are just dedicated to quibbling with every pick aren’t you? Every single other draft analysis has this as a steal for the Yanks, as one of the top 15 players in this draft…
Steve Lombardi on June 5th, 2008 11:34 pm

~~~Every single other draft analysis has this as a steal for the Yanks, as one of the top 15 players in this draft…~~~

Baseball America did have Cole as the 17th best player in the draft. However, they also had Conor Gillaspie (who I would have taken), the one you call “Bill Mueller,” as the 23rd best player in the draft. Is there really much difference between 17 and 23?

Plus, one is a HS pitcher and the other is a college hitter. Studies have told us here that the college hitter is a safer bet than the HS pitcher.
yankeemonkey on June 6th, 2008 12:43 am

When you have the financial flexibility that the Yankees have, you don’t take the safer pick, you take the best player available, with the highest upside. I don’t pretend to know the first thing about players in the amateur draft, so I don’t know whether Cole has a higher upside than Gillaspie, but I’m sure that’s the philosophy behind the pick, and I agree wholeheartedly.
Pete on June 6th, 2008 2:09 pm

>> Mostly it’s because of his immature mound demeanor. >>

I would think something like that could easily be corrected. One pass through AA or AAA and some cranky veteran along the way will fix his wagon.
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