Gerrit Cole, Houston Astros
March/April Stats: 2-4 record with a 37.6% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate, 3.95 ERA, 2.86 SIERA, and 1.2 fWAR in 43.1 innings
If Gerrit Cole being on this list feels familiar, it’s because he was baseball’s top pitcher at the end of April last year. The traditional results (his record and ERA) aren’t the same as they were at this time a year ago, but he’s still producing at a high level.
None of the peripheral stats he’s produced is surprising — especially his 16.2% swinging-strike rate — when he’s making hitters look silly like this.
Gerrit Cole, 94mph Fastball and 88mph Slider, Overlay. pic.twitter.com/f1UPXIwkWj
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 1, 2019
Cole has given up 1.25 homers per nine innings through his first 43.1 frames, but that’s partially because his fly-ball rate has currently settled in at 38.0%, along with allowing hard contact at a 37.6% clip. It’s interesting to see his ground-ball rate creep back up a bit to 39.1% after coming in at a career-low 36.0% mark in 2018.
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