Gerrit Cole has been on a run since August, reminding everyone that he’s the best pitcher on the New York Yankees and more than capable of shutting down an offense. Last night was another brilliant start under his belt, and we’ve seen Cole evolve into a different kind of pitcher than he was when the Yankees first signed him. Initially a power pitcher who racked up strikeouts at a historic pace, Gerrit Cole has recognized that his body just cannot do what it used to, and has found ways to steal outs and limit damage contact.
A crafty veteran who still has brilliant stuff, Cole seems to always evolve with the game, and he’s seemed to find a new weapon in his arsenal. He’s beginning to mix in two-seam fastballs to keep hitters honest, and it could be another way for the veteran ace to deceive hitters and steal outs.
Gerrit Cole Is Continuing To Evolve With the Yankees
We’ve stopped trying to differentiate two-seamers and sinkers, but pitchers will still give those pitches distinct labels in the same way we give sliders and sweepers different labels. A two-seam fastball prioritizes run more than sink, whereas sinkers are the inverse in that regard. Gerrit Cole tinkered with a two-seamer in 2021 but didn’t get much out of it and quickly ditched it, but he used to feature one heavily in his repertoire back when he pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Last night we saw a heavy dosage of two-seamers, as the right-hander threw multiple fastballs with more run and less vertical ride than usual. If we group these alternative fastballs together, the movement profile shows that there’s a clear distinction between it and his four-seamer.
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I charted 10 pitches last night as two-seam fastballs, and it gives him three distinct fastballs for him to throw. With double the run and some more drop, it’s a pitch that he can use to front-hip lefties and jam righties, and it also serves as a way to better protect a four-seam fastball that doesn’t have the same zip or ride it did when he first signed with the Yankees.
This year is the first time since 2017 that Gerrit Cole averaged under 96 MPH on his four-seamer, losing nearly a full tick of velocity on the pitch between 2023 and 2024. Part of that can be attributed to an elbow injury that he suffered earlier in Spring Training, but age definitely plays a role in this as well. From 2022 to 2023, we saw Gerrit Cole lose 1.1 MPH on his fastball, and as this decline continues you have to wonder if it’ll continue to fall in 2025.
Gerrit Cole isn’t oblivious to the fact, he’s a meticulous pitcher who has always found ways to innovate and adapt to where the game is headed and how his body is moving. The impressive part is that as the strikeout stuff has declined, he’s become absolutely brilliant at limiting damage contact.
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There was a point in time where nobody allowed more home runs than Gerrit Cole did, but now he’s one of the better damage suppressors in the game. He’s taken another leap forward as a pitcher despite taking a leap back in his natural abilities, and he’s positioned himself to make some big starts for the Yankees in October. The reason they signed him after the 2019 season was to win a World Series, and he can seriously impact their chances of doing so this year.
Winning the American League East was just one step towards trying to win the World Series, something they haven’t done in 15 years. Gerrit Cole has two ERA titles, six All-Star appearances, an All-Star Game start, and a Cy Young Award in his long list of accomplishments, but the one thing that has eluded him is a World Series ring. A pitcher who looks more and more likely to make the Hall of Fame has just one thing on his mind right now: winning a World Series with his childhood team.