Major League Baseball

Gerrit Cole has been dominant for the Yankees, but he needs some help

Updated Apr. 13, 2021 9:15 p.m. ET

The price of a star pitcher in free agency isn't cheap, but it's often worth it.

Look no further than the New York Yankees and their ace, Gerrit Cole.

In fact, since the start of the 2019 season, Cole might just be the ace in all of major league baseball.

The Yankees and Cole agreed to a nine-year, $324 million contract in the 2020 offseason after he finished second in voting for the AL Cy Young Award and helped the Houston Astros reach the 2019 World Series.

Even with the hefty price, it's safe to say the Yankees are seeing a return on their investment.

In his first season with the Bronx Bombers, Cole posted a 7-3 record in 12 starts, with a 2.84 ERA and 94 strikeouts. He wasn't far off that dominance in three postseason starts in 2020, going 2-0 with a 2.96 ERA and 30 strikeouts.

The scary news for opponents is that Cole looks even more comfortable in his second season in New York.

Through three starts in 2021, the best way to describe Cole's performance might be "historic." He is 2-0 in three starts so far this season, with a 1.47 ERA, 29 strikeouts and only three walks. The 29 strikeouts are tied with David Cone's tally for the most by a Yankees pitcher in his first three starts of a season.

If you tally up Cole's first 15 regular-season starts in pinstripes, he is 9-3 with a 2.56 ERA and 123 strikeouts. Those 123 strikeouts rank third since the start of the 2020 season, behind only that of New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Hyun Jin Ryu.

For those keeping tabs, since the start of 2019, Cole is 29-8 with a 2.52 ERA and 449 strikeouts, the most strikeouts in MLB in that span. Among starting pitchers with at least 150 innings pitched in that time, Cole’s 2.52 ERA ranks third, again behind only that of Ryu and deGrom.

But for all of that individual brilliance, Cole's success has yet to spread to the rest of the team.

Last season, the Yankees were 33-27, and their starting rotation outside of Cole combined to go 15-14 with a 4.79 ERA. So far this season, Yankees starters not named Gerrit are a combined 1-3 with a 5.28 ERA. The team is currently 5-5 and tied for second in the AL East.

In a recent story for ESPN, David Schoenfield detailed how the rest of the Yankees' starting rotation has yet to show signs of consistency around Cole.

"Cole looks every bit like one of the top three starting pitchers in the game," he wrote. "The rest of the Yankees' rotation, however, remains a huge question mark.

"Domingo German, who started New York's third game of the season, was already relegated to the team's alternate site after allowing four home runs in two rough outings. Jordan Montgomery had an excellent first start and then allowed two home runs and hit two batters in a so-so second start. Corey Kluber has struggled with command and is still seeking the velocity and spin rates he hit before the forearm and shoulder injuries that cost him most of the 2019 and 2020 seasons."

It seems safe to say that Cole has been worth every penny of his contract early in his Yankees tenure. But he can't pitch every day.

Whether the Yankees can achieve their ultimate goal of making it back to the mountaintop of baseball might be out of their ace's hands.

The $324 million man needs some help.

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