Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
This month there has been a good deal of attention on the Pittsburgh Pirates since calling up SP Gerrit Cole. Cole was the first overall selection of the 2011 draft, so naturally fantasy baseball dynasty league owners were highly anticipating his MLB debut.
One week into his professional career and Cole is 2-0 with wins over the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. The rookie has a 3.75 ERA and has yet to walk a single batter. Needless to say, dynasty league owners have been gushing over his potential.
Cole has also not given up a home run in his 12 major league innings. He has allowed 24 fly ball outs in his first two starts, but he has yet to see a pitch go into the seats. Most rookies come in and immediately have problems keeping the ball inside the park, so Cole’s early success has certainly been promising.
The 22-year-old is an extremely imposing figure on the bump. Cole is six-foot-four and the UCLA product weighs a staggering 240 pounds. The ball explodes out of his hand and his fastball is currently averaging 96.4 MPH. His curveball is averaging 83.5 MPH, so the disparity between the two has been enough to keep hitters from getting comfortable at the plate against the young hurler.
Cole has been drawing some criticism recently because he has yet to throw a slider at the major league level. He dominated the minor leagues with his slider and many scouts have wondered why he has stuck with his curveball so much this year. Regardless of what pitch he has throw, Cole is still undefeated so he must be doing something right.
Cole is one of the premier pitchers in all keeper formats. He may not draw the attention of Shelby Miller or Matt Harvey in dynasty leagues, but his future looks just as promising.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
