Gerrit Cole

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Pittsburgh Pirates #1 prospect in 2013
  Cole was a big Yankees fan as a kid growing up in Southern California. In fact, a picture of an 11-year-old Cole appeared on the front page of the Newark Star-Ledger during the 2001 World Series that showed him holding a sign before Game Six that read "Yankee Fan Today Tomorrow Forever." However, he didn't even negotiate with the Yankees when they took him with the 28th overall pick in 2008 following his senior season at Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High. He and his parents felt he would be better served by going to UCLA, where he could mature both physically and socially. He did just that and helped the Bruins reach the finals of the 2010 College World Series. His decision paid off in 2011, as the Pirates made Cole the No. 1 overall selection. Cole signed at the Aug. 15 deadline for a draft-record $8 million bonus and played in the Arizona Fall League before making his official pro debut in 2012. He reached Triple-A Indianapolis and pitched in the Futures Game along the way. Cole is a power pitcher with a pair of devastating offerings. He can effortlessly throw his four-seam fastball up to 101 mph, sitting at 96-98 mph and carrying that velocity deep into games. He also throws a two-seamer with sink at 93-95. His slider is a wipeout pitch with very hard tilt and he typically throws it at 88-90 mph, topping out as high as 93. When he stays on top of the slider, it's almost unhittable for righthanders. He also has a solid upper-80s changeup that keeps improving, and he'll mix in an occasional slow curveball for show. In order to become a true ace, Cole will have to make some adjustments. He'll have to keep working on taking a little more off his changeup, which would slow down hitters' bats. He also needs to fine-tune his command. He throws strikes fairly consistently, but he gets hit more than he should considering the quality of his stuff because he doesn't locate his pitches with enough precision. Hitters also seem to see the ball well out of Cole's hand. Some scouts are concerned that he has a tendency to drift away from the rubber during his delivery. He's athletic and intelligent, so he should be able to make the necessary mechanical refinements. Cole got a taste of Triple-A at the end of last season, pitching once in the regular season and once in the International League playoffs. He'll start the 2013 season back at Indianapolis but it would be no surprise to see him in Pittsburgh's rotation by the all-star break--and probably a bit of a disappointment if he isn't. Cole draws comparisons to Justin Verlander and certainly has the look of a No. 1 starter who could anchor their rotation with 2010 first-rounder Jameson Taillon for years.
• 
  Ranked Pittsburgh Pirates #1 prospect in 2012
  Cole had as good an arm as any pitcher in the 2008 draft, and the Yankees made him the 28th overall pick out of Orange (Calif.) Lutheran. Though he grew up as a huge Yankees fan, he never entered into negotiations with the team and instead opted to attend UCLA because he and his parents felt the college experience would help him gain maturity. Cole believes the three years he spent in Westwood did indeed help him grow as a pitcher and a person. He helped the Bruins reach the finals of the 2010 College World Series. Despite dominant stuff, he had just one winning season in three years at UCLA, going 6-8, 3.31 with a 119-24 K-BB ratio in 114 innings last spring. The Pirates made him the No. 1 overall choice in the 2011 draft and gave him a draft-record $8 million bonus at the Aug. 15 signing deadline. An example of how well regarded he is as a person came when one of the first texts he received after drafted came from Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees scouting director he had spurned three years earlier. Cole should represent an upgrade on Pittsburgh's checkered history with the top draft pick: Jeff King (1986), Kris Benson (1996) and Bryan Bullington (2002). Cole signed too late to play in the minors but did participate in the Arizona Fall League, where he lit up radar guns with a fastball that reached as high as 102 mph. That wasn't a fluke because he throws as hard as anybody in pro ball. He usually worked at 93-98 mph at UCLA, with better command when he stayed at the low end of that range. As he gains experience, he could throw harder while doing a better job of locating his fastball. Cole also has a wipeout slider that drops off the table just as it reaches home plate. It's a true swing-and-miss pitch that earns plus-plus grades at times. So too does his changeup, though it's less reliable than his slider. Cole's biggest challenge is to become more consistent with his delivery. Though he has enviable mechanics when he is right, he has spells where he begins flying open with his front shoulder and loses command of his pitches. He also has a tendency to drive too much off his back leg, which causes his front foot to land hard and also affects his ability to put his pitches where he wants. Cole has the athleticism that will allow him to repeat his delivery, and the size and strength to be a workhorse at the top of a rotation. He's an intelligent young man with the reputation of being extremely coachable. Cole is advanced enough to make his pro debut at Double-A Altoona, though the Pirates may send him to high Class A Bradenton until the weather warms up. He could push his way to Triple-A Indianapolis before the end of 2012 and shouldn't need much more than a year in the minors before he can help Pittsburgh. He's one of the few pitching prospects in baseball with legitimate ace potential.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked International League #3 prospect in 2013
  The first overall pick in the draft by the Pirates two years ago, Cole is a promising front-line starter candidate with an unsurpassed arsenal. His primary weapons are a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and peaks at 100 mph, backed with a high-80s slider featuring tight rotation and sharp, darting movement. ?His fastball and breaking ball down in the zone is some of the best stuff I?ve seen this season,? Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor said. Cole?s power stuff played just as well in the majors as it did at Triple-A. He keeps the ball in the park and showed the best control of his career in Pittsburgh. His changeup is firm, but usable. One rival manager said Cole?s stuff was similar in quality to the Mets? Matt Harvey, last year?s standout starter prospect in the IL.
• 
  Ranked Eastern League #3 prospect in 2012
  The first pick in the 2011 draft, Cole opened this year in high Class A while Danny Hultzen and Trevor Bauer, the two college pitchers taken immediately after him, headed straight to Double-A. The stopover in Bradenton helped Cole smooth out his delivery and command, so he was firing on all cylinders when he reached Altoona on June 20. One evaluator said he was almost disappointed that he saw nothing to nitpick. Cole tops out at 100 mph even late into his starts, working up in the zone with high-90s heat and down with a two-seamer that sits at 94-95. One scout clocked Cole's slider at 93 mph, and given its typical 88-91 velocity and power tilt it's a true plus-plus offering. Even his third and fourth pitches, a high-80s changeup and mid-80s curveball, made progress this season and help him slow opponents' bats. Cole throws everything hard and tended to be more hittable than his stuff would suggest, so scouts stopped just short of calling him a true No. 1 starter. He gets hit when he brings the ball up in the strike zone. From a mechanical standpoint, he sometimes drifts off the rubber and throws off a stiff front leg.
• 
  Ranked Florida State League #2 prospect in 2012
  Cole wasn't the only FSL pitcher who could hit triple digits on the radar gun. Lakeland's Bruce Rondon did it regularly and late-season Clearwater callup Ken Giles did the same. But Cole was the only pitcher regularly hitting the century mark as a starter. "He was up to 101 against us. He was very impressive. He's sick," Brevard County manager Joe Ayrault said. "It's tough when you see a guy throw 101 mph for strikes." Cole throws an upper-90s four-seam fastball he can elevate, as well as a mid-90s two-seamer that he can sink or cut. He plays off the two-seamer with a plus-plus 88-91 mph slider, and he can pair up the the four-seamer with a slower curveball. To top things off, he throws an average changeup that has late action. The biggest knock against Cole is that hitters can often can catch up to his premium velocity because they pick the ball up easily out of his delivery. That didn't stop one scout from comparing him to Justin Verlander.
• 
  Ranked Arizona Fall League #4 prospect in 2011
  Cole was the first overall selection in the 2011 draft and, like Hultzen, made his first pro appearance in Arizona. The UCLA product consistently hit triple digits with his heater and showed three plus pitches in his five AFL starts, generally looking like a pitcher worthy of being the No. 1 pick. Like in college, he struggled at times with consistency of his command and feel for the breaking pitches; this tendency was especially evident in the Rising Stars game in which he gave up five runs and didn't make it out of the first inning. Cole's upside is higher, but scouts see Hultzen as being more of a sure thing.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #7 prospect in 2013
• Ranked Baseball America's #12 prospect in 2012

• December, 2012 Scouting Report
  Background: Cole was a big Yankees fan as a kid growing up in Southern California. In fact, a picture of the then-11-year-old Cole appeared on the front page of the Newark Star-Ledger during the 2001 World Series that showed him holding a sign before Game Six that read "Yankee Fan Today Tomorrow Forever."However, he didn't even negotiate with the Yankees when they took him with the 28th overall pick in 2008 following his senior season at Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High. He and his parents felt he would better served by going to UCLA, where he could mature both physically and socially. He did just that and helped the Bruins reached the finals of the 2010 College World Series. His decision paid off in 2011, as the Pirates made Cole the No. 1 overall selection. Cole signed at the Aug. 15 deadline for a draft-record $8 million bonus and played in the Arizona Fall League before making his official pro debut in 2012. He advanced from high Class A Bradenton to Triple-A Indianapolis and pitched in the Futures Game along the way. Scouting Report: Cole is a power pitcher with a pair of devastating offerings. He can effortlessly throw his four-seam fastball up to 101 mph, sitting at 96-98 mph and carrying that velocity deep into games. He also throws a two-seamer with sink at 93-95. His slider is a wipeout pitch with very hard tilt and he typically throws it at 88-90 mph, topping out as high as 93. When he stays on top of the slider, it's almost unhittable for righthanders. He also has a solid upper-80s changeup that keeps improving, and he'll mix in an occasional slow curveball for show. In order to become a true ace, Cole will have to make some adjustments. He'll have to keep working on taking a little more off his changeup to get more separation in velocity from his fastball, which would slow down hitters' bats. He also needs to fine-tune his command. He throws strikes fairly consistently, but he gets hit more than he should considering the quality of his stuff because he doesn't locate his pitches with enough precision. Hitters also seem to see the ball well out of Cole's hand. Some scouts are concerned that he has a tendency to drift away from the rubber during his delivery. He's athletic and intelligent, so he should be able to make the necessary mechanical refinements. The Future: Cole got a taste of Triple-A at the end of last season, pitching once in the regular season and once in the International League playoffs. He'll start the 2013 season back at Indianapolis but it would be no surprise to see him in Pittsburgh's rotation by the all-star break--and probably a bit of a disappointment if he isn't. The Pirates haven't developed a 20-game winner since John Smiley, whom they signed in 1983. Cole draws comparisons to Justin Verlander and certainly has the look of a No. 1 starter who could anchor their rotation for years. He should be a significant upgrade over Pittsburgh's three previous No. 1 overall picks: Jeff King (1986), Kris Benson (1996) and Bryan Bullington (2002).
• December, 2011 Scouting Report
  Background: Cole had as good an arm as any pitcher in the 2008 draft, and the Yankees made him the 28th overall pick out of Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High, one of just two prep pitchers picked in the first round. Though he grew up as a huge Yankees fan, he never entered into negotiations with the team and instead opted to attend UCLA because he and his parents felt the college experience would help him gain maturity. Cole believes the three years he spent in Westwood did indeed help him grow as a pitcher and a person. He helped the Bruins reach the finals of the 2010 College World Series, ranking third in the nation in strikeouts. Despite dominant stuff, he had just one winning season in three years at UCLA, going 6-8, 3.31 with a 119-24 K-BB ratio in 114 innings last spring. The Pirates made him the No. 1 overall choice in the 2011 draft and gave him a draft-record $8 million bonus at the Aug. 15 signing deadline. An example of how well regarded he is as a person came when one of the first text messages he received after being drafted came from Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees scouting director he had spurned three years earlier. Cole should represent an upgrade on Pittsburgh's checkered history with the No. 1 overall pick: Jeff King (1986), Kris Benson (1996) and Bryan Bullington (2002). Scouting Report: Cole signed too late to play in the minors but did participate in the Arizona Fall League. He got touched for two home runs and did not make it out of the first inning of the Rising Stars Game, but still lit up radar guns with a fastball that reached as high as 102 mph. That velocity wasn't a fluke because he throws as hard as any starter in pro ball. He usually worked at 93-98 mph at UCLA, with better command when he stayed at the low end of that range. As he gains experience, he could throw harder while doing a better job of locating his fastball. Cole also has a wipeout slider that drops off the table just as it reaches home plate. It's a true swing-and-miss pitch that earns plus-plus grades at times. So too does his changeup, though it's less reliable than his slider. Cole's biggest challenge is to become more consistent with his delivery. Though he has enviable mechanics when he is right, he has spells where he begins flying open with his front shoulder and loses command of his pitches. He also has a tendency to drive too much off his back leg, which causes his front foot to land hard and also affects his ability to put his pitches where he wants. Cole has the athleticism that will allow him to repeat his delivery, and the physical frame and present strength to be a workhorse at the top of a rotation. He's an intelligent young man with the reputation of being extremely coachable. The Future: Cole is advanced enough to make his pro debut at Double-A Altoona, though the Pirates may send him to high Class A Bradenton until the weather warms up. He could push his way to Triple-A Indianapolis before the end of 2012 and shouldn't need much more than a year in the minors before he can help the Pirates at the major league level. He's one of the few pitching prospects in baseball with legitimate ace potential. In a worst-case scenario, his power repertoire could make him a dominant closer.
• August, 2011 Scouting Report
  Cole was the first overall selection in the 2011 draft and, like Hultzen, made his first pro appearance in Arizona. The UCLA product consistently hit triple digits with his heater and showed three plus pitches in his five AFL starts, generally looking like a pitcher worthy of being the No. 1 pick. Like in college, he struggled at times with consistency of his command and feel for the breaking pitches; this tendency was especially evident in the Rising Stars game in which he gave up five runs and didn't make it out of the first inning. Cole's upside is higher, but scouts see Hultzen as being more of a sure thing.