Jul
11
Scouting report on Gerrit Cole
ByAlex Eisenberg of Baseball Intellect breaks down the stuff and mechanics of Yanks first rounder Gerrit Cole over at The Hardball Times. You’ve gotta love the combination of velocity and movement he brings with his four-seamer, and the slight change with the two-seamer. His curve and change also figure to be above-average, so we’re looking at a guy with ace potential — though, as we’ve learned over the past few years, ace potential guarantees you diddly shit. Eisenberg’s conclusion: “Why fix something that ain’t broke?” Perfect.
looks like this kid automatically becomes our best pitching prospect and is probably top 3 or 4 out of everyone on the farm?
In Jim Callis’s chat this week someone asked Cole, Brackman, or Sanchez? And Callis picked Cole.
Bold, But either way Brack & Cole coming through the system will be great
Keep chosing guys with bum wings…..if the question was Sanchez, Brackman and Mike…..its even money across the board
Yep, instantly their best pitching prospect. Number 3 overall behind Ajax and Montero.
also… i thought I heard from a few places that he has a very raw slider but it has good late movement. At least thats what he said in his scout.com interview.
The implication from the article is that the yankees toyed with Hughes’ delivery and its been for the worse.
Exactly, however I don’t what the issue was to begin with why they changed it
It’ll be fun next year, watching Brackman and Cole unleashed.
any word on the signing process?
He’ll get signed.
Imagine the potential rotation in 5 years:
Wang and Sabathia as veterans
Joba, Hughes and Brackman just reaching their peak
Cole as the young gun coming up
Plus a lot of other talent to fill in the inevitable failures and injuries.
I made a post like this a month or so ago and I have to agree with Mike A.’s response, ‘there is no way Dellin Betances’ is not a part of that dream rotation’.
Also, I’m a UUUUUGE Jairo Heredia fan, UUUGE.
Okay, so then that means:
1) Joba and Wang are, barring monumental collapses, locks to occupy 2/5ths of the rotation for the next 6 years;
2) With Mussina, Pettitte, and Pavano’s money all disappearing soon, it’s highly likely that we add a frontline starter through free agency in the next two years, giving another fifth of the rotation to a Sabathia, Sheets, or the like;
3) Considering his potential, youth, and the above two points meaning that he really only needs to be our #4 starter, Phil Hughes will probably join them in the rotation eventually;
4) then we probably only have one future spot in the rotation for the following pitchers, all of whom are probably B-minus prospects AT WORST:
Ian Kennedy
Gerrit Cole
Andrew Brackman
Humberto Sanchez
Dellin Betances
Jairo Heredia
Jeremy Bleich
Jeff Marquez
Alan Horne
Christian Garcia
Zach McAllister
Luke Greinke
… therefore,
5) We should use our now SIGNIFICANT high-end pitching depth, not including Hughes (who should be untouchable) in a trade or two to improve our roster. Like, maybe trading for an outfielder who is good both offensively and defensively? Or finding another power bat to lengthen the middle of our order?
Where do you want to add a bat? Once Damon comes back, you’re pretty much set with Damon/GardnerMelky/Abreu outfield. Yeah maybe this offseason they trade for somebody but our super high-end guys are still in A ball. McCutchen or Kennedy are probably the only two with significant value right now in AAA. Besides, Brackman/Cole/Betences will not all work out, you can quote me on that one. I’d say Brackman has a 15% shot of ever making it into a big-league rotation (but if he does, he’ll be something special) just because he’s so raw
Oh, I know they all won’t work out. That’s one of the main reasons I’d like to make a trade sooner rather than later; sell them before they go bust.
But yes, I was thinking more about making a trade in the offseason, not necessarily now. I’m concerned that we have a lineup that’s too old and injury prone, and too often PlayRod and Giambi are out there by themselves.
Most of that pitching depth is young, but so many of them are so high ceiling (and so many of them will get blocked by the Joba/Wang/Hughes/Kennedy/Sabathia express) that we should be able to use two or three to get a good young bat that a team will be forced to sell off… like maybe a Prince Fielder, Josh Willingham, Nate McLouth type of guy.
I’m not talking about 2008, I’m talking about 2009 and beyond. Giambi, Matsui, Damon, and Abreu are all not long for this team.
To be a successful pitching staff, you really want 6-9 quality starters. Assuming that half or more of those prospects don’t develop, there really isn’t a huge surplus of arms.
The other thing to consider is that a lot of these guys do not have significant trade value right now. Most of them are injured and/or struggling, and you don’t want to unload prospects when their value is low.
Or they’re in A ball which means they have essentially zero trade value
As an aside on the point at the bottom of THT article, if the Yankees have in fact changed Hughes’s mechanics, maybe it’s time they consider letting him going back to his original delivery.
Why?
The original article that comments on his changed mechanics was referring to his mechanics in his first ML start. The next start he almost threw a no hitter, so his ’stuff’ was not diminished. As for injuries, he was injured a couple times in minors, so I don’t think the new mechanics had anything to do with that.
Let’s be realistic about Hughes. We likely have a new Ben Sheets on our hands. Good when he’s pitching, but likely to spend a lot of time on the DL. Obviously I’d prefer if he never got injured, but I’ll take what I can get.
There have been other articles at THT that have suggested that his mechanics (largely his arm slot) were altered about a year or so ago.
He hasn’t had any arm problems, so I’m more optimistic than that.
That Hardball Times piece is a major, in-depth breakdown of Cole’s ability. Its a good read. Yanks shouldn’t mess around right now with the signing bonus. Give this kid a 3 million dollar bonus already! There’s nobody in the active Yankee farm with that level of velocity. I hope teams are kicking themselves at this time next season for not selecting this kid.
Yes there is, his name is Brackman
Cole holds his velocity better, but he’s a max effort guy. Brackman plays catch at 94.
Lucky bastard. I play catch at about 7.
Cole will probably not get signed until deadline day, Aug 15. Scott Boras will milk this as long as possible, or Bud Selig will hold it up a long as possible because it will be over slot. Anyway, I’m imagining a rotation in a few years of Joba, Brackman, Hughes, Cole and Betances.
By the way, has there been any word on whether Brett Marshall is gonna sign?
i heard a while ago marshall was getting the royal treatment from the yanks and wasnt asking for that much out of slot money..
courtesy of nomaas
http://www.nomaas.org/draft/?p=63
Kid didn’t sign
Wish he had