Atlanta Braves should go big and sign Gerrit Cole
By Fred Owens
The Atlanta Braves need Gerrit Cole
In his book Built to Win, John Schuerholz says he, and then team president, Stan Kasten, settled on Maddux, as the missing piece even if it meant stretching the payroll to the breaking point.
Maddux brought more than his arm to Atlanta; he brought a presence. He made it impossible to face the Atlanta Braves in a series without facing at least one Ace, usually two, and if your luck was really bad, three.
That young Braves rotation formed a bond that made all of them better on the mound. They worked out together, golfed together, goofed-off together, talked baseball together, and challenged each other to get better every day.
The young arms projected for the 2020 Atlanta Braves rotation, are brimming with talent that’s yet to become something that makes other teams dread visiting SunTrust Park or seeing a pitcher wearing the Tomahawk on the mound.
Few pitchers can transform a rotation by walking into a room. Even fewer hit the open market. This year there’s Gerrit Cole.
"If you could grow the perfect starting pitcher in a lab, the result would look a lot like Gerrit Cole. He has a strong case to be considered the best pitcher in baseball (he) led all of MLB in wins above replacement and strikeout rate, and he also possesses excellent control of his four pitches . . . he maintained an average fastball velocity over 97 miles per hour, second among starters. . . paced the American League in ERA (2.50) . . .( and) the Majors in SIERA (2.48). Cole is a true ace, going deep into games and reeling off a quality start nearly 80% of the time . . . Tim Dierkes (my emphasis added)"
In 2018 Cole leapt forward and became the pitcher scouts projected when the Pirates drafted him in 2011. His ERA dropped over a run, and his K/9 jumped from 8.4 to 12.4. And he got even better in 2019.