What a start for Gerrit Cole’s career. Two times he has faced a Cy Young winner and two times he has defeated a Cy Young winner, not to mention Jered Weaver. But there was something interesting being discussed during last night’s game. When A.J. Burnett and Wandy Rodriguez return from the disabled list, is Cole going to be the one going to Triple-A?
First, let’s look at the candidates (I assume Ryan Reid will already be DFA’d).
Vin Mazzaro: Mazzaro is in the midst of his best season in the majors. He pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings last night. He came in relief in the seventh inning and cleaned up Cole’s mess and then went on to pitch a scoreless eighth. He was throwing extremely hard last night, ramping it up to 96 MPH. Despite his success this season, 3-2 3.06 ERA, he still has a career ERA of five even. This goes to show that this year is most likely a fluke for Mazzaro.
Jeanmar Gomez: Gomez, like Mazzaro, is in the midst of a career year. He started out the year in long relief and kept the damage minimal for the Pirates in many early season games. Out of necessity due to injury, Gomez was given a chance to start. He took that opportunity and shined. He has been extremely efficient, like the seven scoreless innings he threw against Detroit that took only 73 pitches. He has been effective by getting batters to hit ground balls. So far he is 2-0 with a 3.07 ERA. As a starter he is 1-0 with a 3.26 ERA. He had been injured but is expected to return this week.
Charlie Morton: I saw Morton’s name thrown out as a possibility, but I don’t see it happening. He is 1-1 with a 1.74 ERA in his two starts since returning from Tommy John Surgery. He struggled last season going 2-6 with a 4.65 ERA in just nine starts before it was revealed he had an elbow injury. But in a full healthy season in 2011 he went 10-10 with a 3.83 ERA in 29 starts. Don’t expect Morton to go anywhere.
Gerrit Cole: The uber prospect has not disappointed in his three starts. He has outdueled Tim Lincecum, Zack Grienke and Jered Weaver. He has given up no more than three runs in any of his starts. He had low strikeout totals in his first two games, but last night he mixed in his slider and got five strikeouts; including Albert Pujols twice. He seemed to be in control last night and had a great fastball that topped at 101 MPH in addition to his slider and a changeup that sat around 90 MPH. He has been fantastic his first three starts.
Out of all the candidates Cole has the most upside, but he is the only one with options on his contract. If the Pirates chose another one of these pitchers, they would be DFA’d, have to clear waivers and choose to go to Triple-A and not elect free agency for the Pirates to keep them. If the Pirates want to keep all of these players, Cole has to be the odd man out when Burnett and Rodriguez return. But I think it should be Vin Mazzaro. I think the Pirates should keep Cole in the majors and in the rotation. It helps them in the short and long term. They should continue to let him develop and figure out the Major League game. A guy like Mazzaro can be found anywhere. Neal Huntington shouldn’t slow Cole’s growth to keep him. When Burnett and Rodriguez return, I fully expect to see Mazzaro be on his way out of Pittsburgh.
