Here’s the road map thus far: close the Aflac game in 2007 and drafted by the Rangers in the 36^th round in 2008. The Rangers have a long history of not offering market money for probable major leaguer starters, so Armstrong went to the bullpen in Vanderbilt in 2009 and the summer on the Cape, where Baseball Beginnings grabbed him for this Q&A.

In 2010, he’s a weekend starter in Vanderbilt, complete with an outing at Dodger Stadium, where he was the only guy who physically belonged. I was beyond bitter when he was pulled after four innings. His numbers indicate a young power pitcher who is still learning, but he’s a guy whose ceiling should be substantial.

Baseball Beginnings: How close were you to signing out of high school?
Armstrong: We were asking for a lot of money, but I really wanted to go to school anyhow. I thought Vanderbilt would be a perfect spot for me. I really wanted to try to follow David Price’s road and what they did for him. I really pushed for college and so did my father. He felt it would be the best decision for me. If they had come up with a bunch of money that it had been a life-changing decision, we would have reconsidered, but they didn’t come up with nearly as much as we wanted.

Baseball Beginnings: Your father played two seasons here at Wareham. Do you have people who remember him, see you, and see the same guy?
Armstrong: Oh, yeah. A lot of people tell me they remember my Dad when he played here. We think it’s pretty funny.

Baseball Beginnings: Describe yourself as a pitcher.
Armstrong: I’d say a mid-90s guy, sometimes a little more than that. A curveball and a change-up are my other two out-pitches.

Baseball Beginnings: What’s the better weapon?
Armstrong: Right now the change-up. It used to be the curveball but the change has developed so much that I think it’s going to be a better pitch for me down the road if I can nail it down. That pitch used to be a lot more hit and miss for me, but I’ve started to get more confidence in it.

Baseball Beginnings: Change-up was Price’s big pitch. Did you pick that up at Vanderbilt?
Armstrong: I’ve always had it, but at first it was just sort of token, where I’d show it and then get away with the high heat. College is different with a metal bat. I felt I needed something to slow down the bats. Some guys won’t throw the change against metal, I felt it would help me.

Baseball Beginnings: Can you explain how facing metal instead of wood can affect how you get scouted?
Armstrong: It can. A lot of guys can throw the crap out of the ball, but with the metal bat it doesn’t make too much of a difference. You’ll get away with some pitches here and there, but with metal you can’t get away with it as much as you do with wood. For me, it’s made me become more confident with my location and use my off-speed pitches in certain situations.

Baseball Beginnings: So I’d imagine the Cape is the wild west for you, where you can attack more with the fastball against wood.
Armstrong: Out here, yes. You can be a lot more aggressive. I think it’s helped me command-wise, with the fastball. In college (in 2009), I was going to the change-up a lot first because I felt it was something I needed to work on. Here, it’s predominantly fastball for me.

Baseball Beginnings: When you go over to the pro side, do you see yourself as a front-line starter: frame for it, body for it, arm for it –
Armstrong: And the pitches for it. I think my outcome eventually will be as a starter. Right now, I feel like I just need to get in as many innings as I can. I think I will eventually be a starter in the long run.

Baseball Beginnings: What have you learned from your Dad?
Armstrong: He’s had a big impact, not necessarily from a mechanical standpoint, but the mental input really helps. I think that’s an edge you can’t understate. I’ve really found it very useful. We started at a really young age and got a good foundation to begin with. We wanted to make sure it stayed where it was, kept improving, and didn’t deviate from where it is. We had it nailed pretty young, so we’re gonna keep it from there.

Watch Jack Armstrong Video

UCLA freshman right-hander Gerrit Cole is developing four pitches. (UCLA)

“His stuff is electric. His fastball is 97-98 with movement, his slider is devastating and he has the change-up he can throw to right-handers. Here comes an 18-year old and I feel lost in the box facing him. He definitely has the best stuff I’ve ever faced.” – UCLA junior third baseman Casey Haerther on facing teammate Gerrit Cole for the first time in Fall, 2008.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gerrit Cole made news when he turned down the New York Yankees as the 28^th overall pick in the 2008 draft, choosing instead to ply his trade in college baseball at UCLA. He was immediately handed the ball as UCLA’s Friday night starter, where for the most part, college hitters haven’t known what to do with his array of power stuff.

Cole has had moments where his slider, curveball and even his change-up have been above-average. When he has one of those three working consistently, it’s a glimpse of a future major league pitcher. When he has all three, it’s a done deal.  The flip side of having dominant stuff as a young power pitcher is learning consistency, which has been the focus of his freshman year.

Like any young power pitcher learning on the job, Cole’s outings have shown moments where his array has been particularly filthy, including a memorable at-bat against USC shortstop Grant Green, when he chewed-up the soon to-be 2009 first-round pick. He’s also had moments, like any young power pitcher, where his fastball command isn’t where he needs to be to win at the next level. There’s the advantage of college baseball for a future professional: learning on the job is much less painful. When Cole turned down the money, he bought himself time. He also earned teams bench-riding him with bonus baby taunts, but that comes with the territory as surely in 2009 as it did in 1950.

Cole shows the ability and desire to learn to pitch, not simply to lean back on velocity and expect everything to come easy. Not all amateur power pitchers accept that reality until they get lit up in the minor leagues. One season removed from the microscope, Cole still attracts radar guns like flies to a light tower. Baseball Beginnings grabbed Cole for a few minutes after he defeated Arizona recently in a Pac-10 game at UCLA.

BB: From last year to this year, how would you describe your development?
Cole: I think I’ve definitely gotten better since last year. I still feel like I have quite a few more adjustments to make to pitch the way I can consistently. I think I’ve been going steadily along working on things.

BB: In your mind, what do you feel you need to work on?
Cole: Everything. Right now I’m working on two different types of sliders and throwing them both for strikes. Right now, it’s locating my fastball better and more consistently. I didn’t really do it tonight.

UCLA right-hander Gerrit Cole struck out 51 and walked 15 in his first 37 innings as a freshman at UCLA. (Photo courtesy UCLA)

BB: Do you feel like you’ve been at your best this year?
Cole: At times, I’ve had a few starts dialed in, but for the most part, no.

BB: Has it been nice to be relatively anonymous again?
Cole: Yes. Teams do get on you during a game, always screaming, always trying to get in your head. 

There you have it: fastball, curveball, slider, change-up and earplugs.

Gerrit Cole Scouting Report
Watch Gerrit Cole vs. Grant Green
Watch Gerrit Cole Scouting video