Whatever happened to Gerrit Cole?
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The amateur draft is coming up on June 9. Now seems like a good to ask, whatever happened to Gerrit Cole?
Cole, you may recall, was taken by the Yankees in the first round last season, No. 28 overall. A 6-foot-4 right-hander from Orange County, Calif., Cole had an overpowering fastball and grew up a fan of the Yankees. Some teams backed off Cole because Scott Boras was his advisor. But the Yankees pounced.
But in what was a surprise to Boras and certainly a shock to the Yankees, Cole refused to negotiate. He went to UCLA and the Yankees were never able to make a firm offer. To this day, it’s something that the Yankees can’t quite figure out. After indicating before the draft that he was willing to sign, Cole backed away.
Cole made the All-Pac 10 Team has a freshman. In 15 games, he pitched 85 innings and allowed only 57 hits while striking out 104. But thanks to 13 unearned runs and a lack of run support, he went 4-8. UCLA finished 27-29.
So while Cole remains a very impressive prospect, he’s stuck on an unimpressive team.
As for the Yankees, they have the No. 29 pick in the draft this season as compensation for not signing Cole.
Here’s where the Yankees pick in the first four rounds:
No. 29
No. 76 (compensation for not signing second-round pick Scott Bittle)
No. 135
They lost these picks as compensation for free agents signed:
25 (Teixeira)
73 (Sabathia)
104 (Burnett)
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
the 29th overall pick?
should get a good player.
If at first you don’t succeed…
Obviously they would need to know that he would come this time. If so then maybe he is there for us in the 2nd or 3rd.
If he says he isn’t leaving school then maybe other teams pass on him.
I thought once you went to a 4-year school you had to stay at least 3 before entering the draft again.
This year’s draft is not considered terribly strong, especially in the area of position players. Should be able to add a pretty good pitcher as a replacement for Cole though.
and just because of the Bruin’s “B” I don’t think we should take a chance on him when he is eligible
How can you grow up a Yankee FAN, get drafted BY the Yankees, and then not even be willing to negotiate with them?
Hell, most Yankee fans I know would give up body parts for the chance to play for the pinstripes.
Strange.
I was just wondering how he was doing last night. When exactly is he draft eligible again?
Potch
June 1st, 2009 at 10:40 am
How can you grow up a Yankee FAN, get drafted BY the Yankees, and then not even be willing to negotiate with them?
Hell, most Yankee fans I know would give up body parts for the chance to play for the pinstripes.
Strange.
—————————————————————————————-
The story I heard was his father was intent on Cole going to college
Is he eligible to be drafted this year?
Cole is not eligible to be drafted this year.
daddy knows best, eh
Jenn – I don’t think so, I’m 99% sure it’s after his junior year.
If you are THAT serious about going to college, if you’re a Yankees fan, you get drafted by the Yankees in the first round and you’re not even going to negotiate, say something before the draft. He would’ve gotten millions from his favorite team and didn’t even blink. Most of us would PAY millions to play for the Yankees.
Tom – Thanks, I hadn’t heard that.
I hope it wasn’t a life changing mistake. (I.e. he gets injured, never gets drafted, never plays for his favorite team…)
the chances of making it on a ml team are small & they knew that.
he might of gotten a nice payday once he signed but after that is a crap shoot.
if the talent is there he will make it to the majors but he will have a degree from staying in college.
his father probably preached that once you pass on college at your age the experience is lost forever at that age.
he also probably told him that the chance will come again.not every person makes the same decision or would do what you or i might do.
Before the Yankees selected him he should have gotten the Okay from his father.
But instead he says yes he will sign with the Yankees. Yankees select him and his father is like no, you’re going to college.
Just an unfortunate situation. He’s very talented and would have booster the Yankees system even more.
A player is eligible for the draft after their senior year of high school. If the player goes to college instead he can’t be drafted until after the junior year.
He’s eligible after his Junior year.
Yeah, once you go to a four-year College, you’re not eligible for the draft again until after your Junior year.
Tough situation with Cole.
He was very good for the Bruins this year. Very good. As a freshman he became their Friday starter.
It’s still very early but Cole right now looks like he has a shot to be a top 3-5 pick in the 2011 draft barring injury.
In other words he’s become, in one year of college, the kind of college player the yankees have almost no shot of acquiring in the draft.
They were right to pick him last season. He was by far the best talent left on the board. Who knows what happened. I hope the yankees have reviewed and improved their draft vetting process based on what happened with Cole and Bittle last season. Most of it was probably random chance but when coupled with the Ynoa situation it wasn’t a good year for the yankees amateur talent people.
Everything I heard or read claimed that Cole’s father wanted his son to go to college. I guess he felt that Cole was a bit immature and needed to grow up.
Plus, Cole comes from a wealthy family, so I read, so the money he could have gotten from the Yankees was irrelevant.
bru -
Free college shouldn’t have factored in at all. The Yanks would have included a free college education in his contract (ala C.J. Henry) so he wouldn’t have had to worry about paying for it. Still a mind-boggling decision by Cole and his family.
“the chances of making it on a ml team are small & they knew that.
he might of gotten a nice payday once he signed but after that is a crap shoot.
if the talent is there he will make it to the majors but he will have a degree from staying in college.”
High round high school players can put stuff into their contracts that requires the team to pay for them to go to college. We’re currently paying for CJ Henry to go to school so he’s not using up a basketball scholarship at Kansas.
The reason why there are colleges is to get an education that will allow you to get a better job and pay scale. The man turned down 7 figures, not a very sound business decision. If he wants to hold to get a better deal in 3 years then that is a risk. One with not too much increased gain attached to it.
the father probably told him the story about our prized pitching prospect who got hurt in that fight,wen’t through all the signing money & works a 9-5 & still lives in the same neighborhood.a trailor park i believe.
CB, are there any international free agents-the kids who can be signed in early July- worth keeping an eye/ear on?
rodg,
Basically all rookie contracts include free college
Who cares?
bru,
Don’t you know that the Yankees earmark $200,000 for the high school kids to use as tuition if they don’t make it as pro ball players?
I feel the Coles should’ve at least allowed the Yankees to make their case. They were definitely misled.
I watched Cole pitch once this season and he was most impressive…..Much more mature and slightly more polished than waht he was last season at Orange Lutheran HS….What impressed me the most was his sudden ability to spot his high octaine fastball in all four quadrants…..The sound of his heater hitting the mitt was a worth the trip up to Westwood…..I did see him on TV but it’s not the same……
i agree & would not do what he did but we do not know all the details.
they apparently have money & going to college by the yankees paying for it is a different experience than getting a scholarship & playing for that college team wich he would not be able to do i believe.
99.9 % of people take the deal but he is in that small group that would not.
maybe he wanted to but pops has too much of an influence.
maybe they have enough confidence in getting drafted again but with a college degree & a once in a lifetime experience that only going to college,playing for that college team can bring.
maybe they do or will regret it.maybe not.
“I feel the Coles should’ve at least allowed the Yankees to make their case. They were definitely misled.”
Were they misled or did they misread the situation?
Not sure how full due diligence can be done without ascertaining where they were on college vs. pros. Of course, it’s not inconceivable they knew and gambled on the chances they could sway him because he was that much better than what was left on the board.
Tom,
The big prospect name for the international signing period this year is Miguel Angel Sano a 16 year old SS who is supposed to be very good.
Multiple teams are pursuing him including the Yankees. But interestingly it looks like the Pirates are the favorites to land him – Sano is currently working in their complex in the DR. Supposedly it’s going to take $4m to sign him and the pirates are willing.
It’ll be interesting to see what the pirates do in the draft at pick 4. Supposedly if they do sign Sano that will impact who they take in the draft. They’ll try to take someone who is likely to sign for the slot recommendation.
Baseball prospectus is reporting that the yankees are hot on Gaby Sanchez who is a catcher with a good bat. Might not stick at C but he can hit. Supposedly he might command $3m.
The international signing market has gone crazy.
“What impressed me the most was his sudden ability to spot his high octaine fastball in all four quadrants…..”
Pat M,
That’s just painful to hear. He had a very good season for a freshman.
If Bryce Harper weren’t draft elligible in 2011 Cole would have a real shot of going #1 overall.
Really a shame they couldn’t get the kid into their system.
Cole was named the Friday starter for UCLA early in the season and for a frosh that is impressive. He has great stuff but his dad was calling the shots… I believe the yanks were mislead by his intentions. He should be a very high pick in 2011 barring injury.
The real problem is that if the team takes a player this year at 29 or 76 who does not sign, they are not going to get compensation picks next year. It is crucial that they draft players they can sign in those two slots or they end up with nothing.
Steve B,
I don’t know. Gerrit’s “advisor” was Scott Boras, no? On second thought, maybe Boras was more excited about the possibilities than the Coles.
And I’m pretty sure that the Yankees ask all their over-slot prospects about their desire to go to school vs. signing.
If he stays healthy, and matures as a college player, he will get a much larger bonus getting drafted out of college than HS. Ian Kennedy got $6mil signing bonus, i think that’s a lot higher than what Hughes got out of HS.
m
do you really believe we know all the details?
don’t kid yourself.
i knew the yankees paid for that sort of thing but you never know what is inside of somebody’s head or their reasoning.
it does not have to make sense to you & i,just the family.
they probably thought that the money will be gone quickly but if you are good enough the day will come again,if you are not it won’t matter much except he has a college degree & a once in a lifetime experience.
Thanks, CB.
“I don’t know. Gerrit’s “advisor” was Scott Boras, no?”
Well, you would think having Boras as an advisor would scream “I’m signing!”. You wonder if the father had some ludicrous number in his mind that would switch the trigger from college to the Yankees, and Cashman didn’t get there. Yankees were going $3M for a bonus, right?
bru,
No, I don’t know anything. But I do know that signing the kid was a possiblity because the Yankees drafted him. I do know that the Coles did an about face by not even approaching the table.
Even if the kid (father) wanted to go to college, why not let the Yankees state their case? Nothing was binding.
If anything, it was unprofessional behavior on the parents part.
No big deal to me. We’ve got plenty of prospects to watch.
I may be naive in a lot of things, but this one’s not as transparent as some would like us to believe.
Draft eligiblity is after junior year or if you turn 21. I know a sophmore who is 21 and draft eligible
not to mention look at the yankees pitching staff & minor league situation.
the yankees have sabathia,wang,burnett,joba,hughes,kennedy,brackman & many others.
wher does cole fit in?
“the yankees have sabathia,wang,burnett,joba,hughes,kennedy,brackman & many others.”
Can’t look at it that way. There’s some chance Wang is gone after next year. IPK may never make it as a Yankees starter and could head elsewhwere. Brackman? Long ways away it seems. You can never have too much high end pitching.
m
i agree if this is what happened.
i don’t know enough about it.
i will try to research it.
i do know that in life crap happens & you move on.
maybe the father had to much pull over his son.
Another thing is that kids want to play in the majors. Once upon a time, playing for the Yankees meant that you might get to play in the majors….for another team.
With the success of Joba, pitchers now know that you can be fasttracked to the Bronx if you have the goods.
I would think that would appeal to a young flamethrower.
Anyway. Best of luck to the kid, as long as he doesn’t end up on the Red Sox.
Steve B
i am not saying i look at it that way.
maybe the family did.
By the time Cole is a Junior, he’ll be a very impressive package…..His biggest challenge for success lies between his ears……But he’ss grown up quite a bit in his first season as a UCLA Bruin…..
The Pirates are always a slot team. Their President is one of Bud Selig’s best friends and is the “inventor” of the recommended slot system Selig pushes teams to use.
They went over slot last year for Alvarez and that turned into a war with Scott Boras. This year, its believed they are taking Boras clients off their board.
Whomever they draft at 4 will be offered slot money. The issue will be which “slot”. The proper slot, or the recommended 10% cut that Selig wants teams to take this year.
That’s where the negotiating will begin.
The only thing to me that is questionable in the Gerrit Cole situation is that I believe the family should have let it be clearly known well in advance that Cole going to college and that no dicussion would be had. It cost the Yankees a pick last season; my guess is there were rumblings he may not sign, but the Yankees figured they’d at least have a shot at talking with the family and try to change their minds, otherwise, they would have used their pick elsewhere. They could not take the chance that he would go to someone else.
I think, personally, that it’s better to go to college. If you’re really good, another opportunity will present itself. Sure, you take a financial risk if you end up not being as good or if you get injured. But it’s all a gamble anyway with prospects. However, I do realize if a player is coming out of humble financial circumstances, or if a player is really not college material academically, signing right out of high school could be the best decision they ever make.
“I would think that would appeal to a young flamethrower”
Sounds like if it where up to him (Cole) he would have bypassed college and took the money and be pitching in Charleston now.
This go to college decision was his father’s.
I didn’t know that Eric Duncan was Shelley’s cousin.
SJ,
The nephew has really hit the big time.
Nice interview he did with Baseball Prospectus.
That’s got to be a kick to see. Especially after catching a 25 inning game!
Although you can’t start telling a sabermetrically oriented baseball site that your catching style is being a grinder. You just can’t… when does the media training start….?
I blame the uncle for that!
Here was BP’s summary of Tony before the interview:
“It isn’t every day that you hear a young player cite Yadier Molina as his role model, but Tony Sanchez doesn’t approach the game like most young players. Widely regarded as the top college catcher available in the upcoming draft, Sanchez swings a potent bat—the Boston College backstop hit .355/.455/ .640 on the season with 14 home runs—but his primary focus is on the defensive side of the ball. A 21-year-old native of Miami with emerging power to go with his unselfish approach and strong arm, Sanchez is projected by Kevin Goldstein to be selected late in the first round on June 9. After the Eagles’ final regular-season game, Sanchez talked about his approach behind the plate, and his maturation into a top-round talent.”
http://www.baseballprospectus......cleid=8980
SJ:
How’d he end up at BC anyway? Miami kid. High end baseball player. Those guys usually end up at one of the FLA schools, no? Plus it’s freakin’ cold as a witch’s elbow up there in the spring.
If Cole’s father was calling the shots, and making his son go to college was the shot he was set on, then why hire Scott Boras?
Sounds to me like the family indicated that they’d sign (hence retaining Boras’ services), then backed off and went the college route when they didn’t get a big enough deal. He’s a talented kid and if he keeps maturing and pitching well he’s going to get a lot more guaranteed money as a Junior.
The Yankees were not taken for a ride by a family who misled them about how big of a deal their son going to college was. They were probably presented with an unreasonable demand and balked.
randy l -
Just so you know – I read your post in an earlier thread responding to my comment.
SJ44 -
Just read the interview that CB linked to. What an impressive exchange. How old is he????? He’s very articulate. Any team will be lucky to get him in their system. But the Red Sox???
“If Cole’s father was calling the shots, and making his son go to college was the shot he was set on, then why hire Scott Boras?”
Only reason I can think of is to see whether he could elicit a Godfather offer from the team that drafted him that would keep him out of college.
“The Yankees were not taken for a ride by a family who misled them about how big of a deal their son going to college was. They were probably presented with an unreasonable demand and balked.”
Dude,
It never even got to the negotiation phase. The family refused to meet with the team. Sad but true…
CB,
LOL! Very true.
He was told by Miami he wasn’t good enough to play fir them. If he was there last year, they would have won the CWS.
When BC offered, I felt it was a great opportunity to play everyday in the best baseball conference in America.
Add to it a quality education and the feeling going away to college would benefit him, we made the call for BC.
It couldn’t have worked out better for the kid on and off the field.
I couldn’t be prouder of him.
Above all else, he’s remained a great kid.
When Neal Huntington finished meeting with him last week, he told him, “No matter what we do at #4, you have a fan in me”.
That’s always great to hear.
Rob -
Was it a matter of no contact, no nothing, ever, or did the Cole camp present a baseline demand which below which they were not willing to even discuss? “Refuse to negotiate” (Pete’s phrase) could simply mean that they had a starting point and were not willing to move from it, period. Certainly a hard-line stance, but that’s how it goes.
Even Boras got mislead got Cole’s dad.
Enough Anti-Boras guys have told me that to believe it to be true.
If it wasn’t true, those guys would have been gloating over it and they aren’t.
new post
Using the adage that you can’t ever have enough pitching, the Yankees also need to draft good position prospects this time around.
Future catching is a strong point but muti positional players should get high consideration in the Yankee drafting plans.
From what I was told by some people who were directly involved, throughout the scouting process, Cole indicated he wanted to play pro ball and he would sign for the right amount. He slipped to the Yankees because of signability concerns but as they tend to do, the Yanks were confident that the problem could be solved with money. But after selecting him, the dialog was virtually non-existent. The team went to Cali to meet with him and his father refused the meetings. At some point, he must have decided that his son HAD to go to college… maybe if for no other reason than having him close to home for 3 more years. Some publications had him rated as the top pitcher in the draft and it is obvious he is a talent. For his sake, hopefully he doesn’t get hurt and has the same opportunity in 3 years.
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/.....r-yankees/
This article sort of reiterates my point. But yeah… the team would love to have him regardless of who they have pitching in the Bronx right now.
As mentioned in Pete’s post, the Yanks get the 76th pick this year for not signing last year’s 2nd rounder. After giving him a physical they were concerned with his shoulder. They still wanted to sign him, but at a much more team friendly price. He refused and went back to school where he pitched very well….until his shoulder gave out about 2 weeks ago. Chalk one up for the Yanks medical staff. Seems like they’ve gotten very few wins lately.
question, who could the yankees DFA that’s on the 40 man roster in order to bring up either linden, rodriuguez or duncan?
Berroa
Cole and family made a stupid life dessision wich he’ll probably regret for ever. He’ll have a great collage career, and will be drafted by a stinking team. if I’d get drafted by the yanks with boras my agent no way I don’t sign. I’d sign even 4 free with the yanks.
The person to blame here is SCOTT BORAS. As an advisor, and a professional, he should have been privy to the family’s intentions…. His repuation is always on the line during these negotiations. Next time Yanks (and a Boras client) are involved in this type of scenario (in the draft), I’m sure the Yanks will be more tentative.
I mean, Boras had to believe this kid wanted to sign, and that the family wanted this…. after all, he wants $$$. So, I am sure Boras was duped all along as well. Much to his dismay, I’m sure. Because Boras was involved, I’m thinking the Yanks felt the chances of him signing were good (although they would have to pay, which they were prepared to do).
I mean, not only did the Yanks miss out on Cole, but they let MIchael Inoa go to OAK. If they felt Cole wouldn’t sign, they would have drafted someone else AND probably give another million to that Inoa kid.
So, in NY’s defense…. I have to blame Boras for botching this up. He needs to work with the Yanks, it was his duty to be honest and in-the-know with regard to his client.
The person to blame here is SCOTT BORAS. As an advisor, and a professional, he should have been privy to the family’s intentions…. His repuation is always on the line during these negotiations. Next time Yanks (and a Boras client) are involved in this type of scenario (in the draft), I’m sure the Yanks will be more tentative.
I mean, Boras had to believe this kid wanted to sign, and that the family wanted this…. after all, he wants $$$. So, I am sure Boras was duped all along as well. Much to his dismay, I’m sure. Because Boras was involved, I’m thinking the Yanks felt the chances of him signing were good (although they would have to pay, which they were prepared to do).
I mean, not only did the Yanks miss out on Cole, but they let MIchael Inoa go to OAK. If they felt Cole wouldn’t sign, they would have drafted someone else AND probably give another million to that Inoa kid.
So, in NY’s defense…. I have to blame Boras for botching this up. He needs to work with the Yanks, it was his duty to be honest and in-the-know with regard to his client.
The inability to sign Cole stings, but the Yankees made the right call bypassing on Bittle, who was left off the Ol’ Miss roster for postseason play. Although cleared by 3 doctors last year, his shoulder issues flared up again. Bigger question…with the spotty medical history, why did the Yanks waste a 2nd round pick on Bittle?
Cole was only 17 y/o when he was drafted and didn’t turn 18 till after the signing deadline. That meant that he needed parental consent to sign. For the amount of money they were looking at ($1.5 to $2.5 million), they must have felt that there would be tremendous pressure on Cole to live up to at too early an age. One of his high school teammates did sign with the Mariners and played short season rookie ball last year but was also granted a chance to go to college for a full year and report for short season rookie ball again this year. I think the Cole’s felt their son wasn’t ready emotionally to deal with the money and the pressure and wanted him to go through the college experience with the opportunity to play at a D1 school that would give him a chance to continue his development in pitching.