
Gerrit Cole
Cole pitched great in his first five big league seasons, but he was outstanding in his most recent one. Joining the Houston Astros in 2018, Cole contributed a 15-5 record, backed by a 2.88 ERA.
His strikeouts were way up from previous years. 276 was the mark in ’18, 74 more K’s than his previous best season total. He averaged 12.4 strikeouts per nine innings and less than one home run allowed per nine innings.
Cole is still in the arbitration phase of his contract. Like Arenado, he was not satisfied with his team’s offer this period. As mentioned by Climbing Tal’s Hill, the star pitcher filed for $13.5 million to avoid arbitration; however, the Astros filed for $11.425 million.
If he comes close in 2019 to what he did in 2018, Gerrit Cole will earn a boatload of money next offseason. He would be a wonderful ace for a club headquartered a few hours northwest from his current home.