Gerrit Cole Dominates In Minors Ahead Of Yankees Return
Gerrit Cole has been lighting up the minor leagues and looks to be back in all his Cy Young award glory. These recent games have gotten fans thrilled to have Cole back soon and adding the 2023 Cy Young winner will further solidify an already great starting rotation. Cole could expect the call back up into the starting rotation sooner than we all think.
The 2024 New York Yankees have had a fantastic 2024 season so far, holding 1st place in the AL, and have a high chance of finally obtaining their 28th championship for the franchise. Not only has Juan Soto been a significant factor in the Yankees winning ways, but so has the starting pitching rotation.
Carlos Rodon is resurging into a phenomenal starter, Marcus Stroman has been dealing, and doing it with swag, and Luis Gil was a hidden diamond for the Yankees. This starting rotation has done exceptionally well, and the only piece missing is the 2023 Cy Young and Yankees ace, Gerrit Cole.
Cole Goes All Out In 2023
Cole had an outstanding 2023 season, a small glimmer of light in the dark and cloudy 2023 New York Yankees season. In 2023, Cole posted a win record of 15-4 with an ERA of 2.76 and a WHIP of 0.981. Cole set a franchise record in 2023 when he surpassed Ron Guidry for the most 10-strikeout games in franchise history. Cole posted a 9.6 in strikeouts per 9 and only allowed 61 earned runs for the entire season. There’s no question Cole was well deserving of the award.
Yankees’ Pitching Staff Take Command Despite Losing Their Ace
Fans anticipated another great season for Cole in 2024, but Cole unfortunately went down with an elbow injury during Spring Training that has had him sidelined since then. With Cole on the sidelines, Yankees fans were worried about the starting rotation that was heavily impacted by the loss of Cole. Luckily, the Yankees’ current pitching staff is doing fine without him, with a team ERA of 3.02, and leads the MLB in ERA as of this writing.
Reminding Everyone Why He’s A Cy Young Winner
Gerrit Cole was cleared to play again on June 5th, starting for the Double-A Somerset Patriots. The start makes it his first since his spring training injury in March. In that start, Cole looked like he didn’t miss a beat. Cole allowed two singles, but no runs, and struck out five batters in 3 1/3 innings pitched. Cole threw 45 pitches, 34 of which were strikes.
The accuracy is still there. Cole allowed a run in his next start but struck out four batters in 4 2/3 innings, and threw 44 strikes out of the 57 pitches thrown during his start.
In his Triple-A start on June 14th, Cole struck out 10 batters on 4 1/3 innings pitched. The 2023 Cy Young looks to be in tip-top shape and could soon be ready to return to the lineup.
According to Chris Kirschner of the Athletic, Cole could start against the Baltimore Orioles as soon as this Wednesday. If Cole does start on Wednesday, it’ll be a much-needed addition to an already-stacked Yankees squad.
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