Gerrit Cole
Cole's fastball velocity has dropped nearly three miles per hour since his dominant 2019 Cy Young season, yet he remains one of baseball's most reliable aces. The 36-year-old posted a 133 ERA+ over his career, anchored by that transcendent Houston campaign where he struck out 326 batters with a 2.50 ERA.
What separates Cole from other power pitchers is his durability and consistency. His 153-80 record tells the story of a pitcher who wins games, not just strikes batters out. Even as his peak velocity fades, his command and secondary pitches have evolved to maintain effectiveness.
The real test comes now. Cole's body of work suggests he can adapt to diminished stuff, but 2024 will reveal whether his cerebral approach can compensate for Father Time's inevitable toll on his four-seamer.
| Date | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | HR | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 17 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 1 | L |
| Jul 8 | 6.333 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | L |
| Jul 3 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | W |
| Jun 27 | 5.333 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | L |
| Jun 22 | 4.333 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | L |
| Jun 16 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 | W |
| Jun 9 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — |
| Jun 3 | 5.333 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | L |
| May 27 | 6.667 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | W |
| May 22 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — |
Career · Hitting
7 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | — | 19 | 34 | 0 | 5 | — | — | — |
| 2014 | — | 23 | 46 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 2015 | — | 33 | 60 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 2016 | — | 21 | 40 | 1 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 2017 | — | 34 | 55 | 1 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 2018 | — | 32 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2019 | — | 33 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Career | 195 | 251 | 3 | 15 | — | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
13 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | — | 19 | 117.1 | 10 | 7 | 3.22 | — | 100 | 1.17 |
| 2014 | — | 22 | 138.0 | 11 | 5 | 3.65 | — | 138 | 1.21 |
| 2015 | — | 32 | 208.0 | 19 | 8 | 2.60 | — | 202 | 1.09 |
| 2016 | — | 21 | 116.0 | 7 | 10 | 3.88 | — | 98 | 1.44 |
| 2017 | — | 33 | 203.0 | 12 | 12 | 4.26 | — | 196 | 1.25 |
| 2018 | — | 32 | 200.1 | 15 | 5 | 2.88 | — | 276 | 1.03 |
| 2019 | — | 33 | 212.1 | 20 | 5 | 2.50 | — | 326 | 0.89 |
| 2020 | — | 12 | 73.0 | 7 | 3 | 2.84 | — | 94 | 0.96 |
| 2021 | — | 30 | 181.1 | 16 | 8 | 3.23 | — | 243 | 1.06 |
| 2022 | — | 33 | 200.2 | 13 | 8 | 3.50 | — | 257 | 1.02 |
| 2023 | — | 33 | 209.0 | 15 | 4 | 2.63 | — | 222 | 0.98 |
| 2024 | — | 17 | 95.0 | 8 | 5 | 3.41 | — | 99 | 1.13 |
| 2026 | — | 10 | 55.0 | 3 | 5 | 3.93 | — | 55 | 1.16 |
| Career | 327 | 2007.6 | 156 | 85 | — | — | 2306 | — | |
Each pitch type this pitcher throws regularly, placed by how the ball moves — sideways break across, rise or drop down the side. Each dotted ring holds about the middle 85% of the league’s pitches of that type, so a cluster sitting outside its ring is movement most pitchers don’t have.
The dots — a sample of this pitcher’s regular-season pitches, placed by movement: left–right is horizontal break, up–down is induced vertical break (what the pitch does beyond gravity). The view is handedness-neutral — positive break is toward the pitcher’s arm side for lefties and righties alike, so every sinker runs right and every sweeper breaks left, whoever throws it.
The dotted rings — about the middle 85% of where each pitch type lands league-wide (a 2-standard-deviation spread), measured from 7.5 million regular-season pitches since 2015. A cluster sitting well outside its ring is movement most of the league doesn’t get. Spring training and the postseason are excluded.
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.