Last season, Yankees ace Gerrit Cole had a “down year.” He went 13-8 with an ERA of 3.50 and led the league in strikeouts with 257. His 257 strikeouts also shattered the Yankees’ 44-year-old single-season record held by Ron Guidry. He would also appear in the All-Star Game for the second season in a row. However, what plagued Cole all last season was his inability to limit the long ball. He led all of MLB with 33 home runs given up. This season Gerrit Cole is better than ever and could potentially have a career year.
A Red Hot Start
This season, Cole is off to a red-hot start. In five starts, Cole is 4-0, with an ERA of 0.79, 36 strikeouts, and a FIP of 2.19. The only pitchers who have a lower ERA than Cole are Shohei Ohtani and Marcus Stroman. He currently has a scoreless innings streak of 14.2. In four of his five starts, Gerrit Cole has been able to go at least six innings or more including completing one of those games. Something else that should be noted is that Gerrit Cole has yet to give up a home run this season!
How the Pitch Clock Has Helped Him
The implementation of the new pitch clock has really benefited Cole. One thing he used to do last year is overthink what pitch to throw. Cole would oftentimes get in his own head due to him wanting to execute the perfect pitch during a crucial at-bat. This was part of the reason why he struggled to limit the home run ball last season. With the clock, Cole is now able to decide on a pitch more quickly.
Changes to His Pitch Usage
Despite all the success Gerrit Cole had in 2021, he made some changes to how he used his repertoire of pitches. In 2022, Cole increased his fastball usage from 47.1 to 51.9 percent. His slider usage remained mostly the same going from 22.2 to 22.6 percent. One pitch that saw a big increase in use was his cutter. He went from throwing it less than 1 percent of the time to a little less than 6.5 percent. His usage of his curveball and change-up all saw big decreases in use throughout the 2022 season.
This season, Gerrit Cole has made some big changes to how he uses his pitches. He has been relying a lot more on his fastball throwing it 54.5 percent of the time. Cole decreased his slider usage from last year going from 22.6 to 19.3 percent. He has really abandoned his cutter for the most part only throwing it two total times. Cole in turn has increased how often he throws his curveball and change-up. It’s safe to say that this game plan has been working for Gerrit Cole and the Yankees.
A Weaker Red Sox Line Up and How the Scheduling Format Benefits Him
It’s been well-documented that Gerrit Cole has struggled to pitch well against the Boston Red Sox, particularly at Fenway Park. Heck, Cole has a career record of 4-6 with an ERA of 4.76 at Fenway Park. However, lots of things have changed with the Red Sox. Pests like Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, and Christian Vazquez are now on different teams. Aside from Rafael Devers, there is nobody really in the Red Sox lineup that is really intimidating to face. It also helps that Cole will pitch less at Fenway Park this season due to the scheduling format change.
He’s Just Getting Started
Due to the injuries to Luis Severino and Carlos Rodon, the Yankees have had to rely on Gerrit Cole even more than expected. Cole has proven so far this season that he’s been up to the task of stabilizing the rotation. If Cole has been this good without Severino and Rodon, imagine what he’ll be when they return. Given how well Gerrit Cole has pitched so far this season, he gives the Yankees a chance to win every time he starts. I believe this season he has a real chance at winning the Cy Young Award.
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