Ryan Garcia
If the Yankees had a checklist of things they needed to win the 2026 World Series, a healthy Gerrit Cole would almost certainly be on that list.
One of the biggest questions surrounding the 2026 club was whether he’d be able to return to form following Tommy John Surgery, but the early signs are pointing in the right direction.
Cole sat around 96 MPH in his latest bullpen session according to Brendan Kuty, a 35-pitch outing at George M. Steinbrenner Field that would then lead to a conversation with the team about pitching in Spring Training.
Jack Curry originally reported the news of this discussion between the former Cy Young winner and his organization, but the outcome of it has yet to be determined.
He seems ahead of schedule and looks like the kind of pitcher who can take the ball in Game 1 of a big postseason contest, and the Yankees have to be thrilled with what they’re seeing.
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Gerrit Cole Is Showing All the Signs Of Being the Yankees’ Ace Again
When we last saw Gerrit Cole in regular season action, his fastball was sitting at 95.9 MPH, and it remained a highly effective pitch as batters whiffed 23.5% of the time against it with a .361 SLG%.
His fastball command had been pristine especially over the past two seasons, being more conscious of areas in the zone where hitters can do damage on contact to either steal strikes or get weak contact.
In his latest bullpen, the reports from eyewitnesses have suggested that Cole has been happy with the crispness of his fastball and its command, which are the key indicators that he could return to form in 2026.
The evolution of Gerrit Cole has come with reduced four-seam usage, but the pitch still serves as the bedrock for his arsenal by setting up the various weapons at his disposal.
Brendan Kuty of The Athletic noted that Cole had been working in some changeups, and that’s the pitch I’m hoping we can see some changes with.
If there’s more depth added to this changeup or more tail, it would have enough movement separation off of his four-seamer to create swings and misses.
The Yankees have become one of the best organization’s in MLB at developing offspeed pitches and the development of one for Cole could add a couple more years of frontline-level dominance to his career.
I’ve always been a big fan of his cutter even when hitters bashed it during the 2022 season and think it’s the key for him limiting more damage over the last couple of seasons.
The Yankees Could Set Up a Super Rotation
Max Fried has been one of the 10 best pitchers in the sport for over half a decade now, and he could be joined by the pitcher who arguably owned the 2020s before injury in Gerrit Cole.
Cam Schlittler has shown frontline upside with a power four-seamer sitting in the 97-99 MPH range that can get up to 101 MPH, while Will Warren has looked like a solid backend starter.
Luis Gil and Ryan Weathers are talented Wild Card with significant injury history that could stick in the rotation or move into a high leverage bullpen role.
Elmer Rodriguez has the makings of a groundball machine that pounds the zone with six distinct pitch shapes, and Carlos Lagrange is averaging 100-101 MPH on his four-seam fastball as a starter.
Throwing Gerrit Cole into this mix could prove devastating for opposing lineups, and that’s not even factoring in the return of Carlos Rodon.
Health is not a guarantee; their excess of depth on paper will be withered down as the 162-game season claims the shoulders and elbows of some key names, but this is a good amount of talent to stack together.
No rotation has a ‘high-floor’ due to the randomness of UCL tears, which can happen to a guy throwing 100 constantly or your no. 8 starter who is happy to see 90 MPH on the radar gun.
The Yankees are no exception to this; but they have an opportunity to put together the best rotation the sport if their player development can hit on high-variance players with upside.
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