Gerrit Cole made his highly anticipated MLB debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday as he shut down the San Francisco Giants for 6.1 innings.
The No. 1 pick from the 2011 MLB Draft, Cole needed just about two years to go from draft pick and top prospect to a successful MLB pitcher.
Cole was dominant on Tuesday, recording 13 straight outs from the second inning through the sixth en route to his first Major League win. The Pirates beat the defending World Series champion Giants, 8-2, with Cole picking up his first major league victory.
Let's take a look at how the flame-throwing 22-year-old fared in his MLB debut.
Command: A
While the pressure gets to some rookies during their MLB debut and they have trouble hitting the strike zone, Cole was painting the corners all night.
He wasn't afraid to come right at a powerful Giants lineup, and because of it he threw strike after strike after strike.
Gerrit Cole with 39 strikes and 9 balls through 4 innings. Hard to beat that for fastball command. #pirates
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) June 12, 2013
Gerrit Cole is CRUISING. Nine pitches, five pitches, ten pitches. Three straight perfect innings after that roughish start.
— Pat Lackey (@whygavs) June 12, 2013
It's hard to take away anything from Cole's command as he was spectacular until the seventh inning.
Overall, Cole threw 59 of his 81 pitches for strikes.
Velocity: A+
We knew that Cole threw hard entering Tuesday night, but few people appreciated just how hard he could actually throw.
Cole completely overpowered batters, blowing them away with his stuff and hitting 99 MPH at his peak.
Cole has hit 99 on the gun and thrown just 13 balls through five innings. Kinda unfair.
— Alex Pavlovic (@AlexPavlovic) June 12, 2013
Cole struck out his very first batter, and we can see how he came right at Gregor Blanco and surprised him with a 99 MPH heater.
I feel bad for Russell Martin having to catch those fastballs all night.
Movement: B+
Cole isn't exactly known for his movement, but it was solid when he needed it, and the Giants simply couldn't hit his offspeed stuff either.
You don't see Buster Posey look bad in an at-bat very often, but he just struck out on an off speed pitch in the dirt from Cole.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 12, 2013
While he wasn't making batters look off-balance all night, he certainly knew how to use his solid curve.
High-Level Situations: B+
Few rookies can stand the pressure from just pitching in the big leagues during their first start, but Cole overcame that and the extra pressure that came from allowing baserunners as well.
Cole had a rocky start in his first two innings, giving up two hits in each of the first two innings and hitting a batter in the second as well. However, he found ways to work out of his early jams.
While he was charged with two earned runs from his pitching in the seventh, Cole was calm, cool and collected throughout the game, looking like he'd been there before.
Gerrit Cole looks so "cool" and composed out there. Ok, he did let a smile out on that #NeilWalker gem #LetsGoBucs #bucstuesday
— Kirk Littell (@KLittell) June 12, 2013
Batting: A
Most of the time it's unfair to judge a pitcher based on their hitting.
Gerrit Cole isn't most pitchers.
In his very first Major League at bat, Cole came up with the bases loaded and two outs, and Tim Lincecum looked like he would put away the rookie to get out of the jam. However, Cole had other ideas.
Lining a deep single, Cole drove in two runs on his first base hit in his first at bat.
Gerrit Cole is the 1st pitcher chosen No. 1 overall to get a hit in his MLB debut (of the 14 to make the majors).
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 12, 2013
His other at-bats were less exciting, but the fans loved Cole's liner in his third at bat.
Gerrit Cole can do no wrong --- at least to us #Pirates fans. Just got a standing ovation on a line-out to CF. He's spoiling us already.
— D.J. Peckens (@DJPeckens) June 12, 2013
Some fans even joked about him moving up in the order.
Gerrit Cole should be batting ahead of Clint Barmes.
— #7 (@catfur7) June 12, 2013
Overall: A
Pirates fans couldn't have asked for more from their rookie pitcher. He looked like an ace on the mound, and sometimes it was hard to figure out if he was a veteran or a newbie.
#RedSox Gerrit Cole (Pitt) 58 pitches thru 5. Lester70 thru 3. Which pitcher is pitching his first MLB game????
— Doug Herron (@njsoxfan34) June 12, 2013
His stat line of 2 earned runs, seven hits, a hit batter and two strikeouts in 6.1 innings pitched might not be all that impressive because it was marred by his performance in the seventh, but he was dominant throughout and showed a great deal of promise.
We can expect big things from this kid in the future.
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