Over the Course of this week MLB Network has been releasing its own version of what they think is the 100 best players in the game of Baseball right now. Yesterday they released 10 through 1 in their countdown and in somewhat of a surprise (to me at least), and to the delight of Yankees fans, they have ranked Gerrit Cole (7) higher than Jacob DeGrom (8) in their list.
I think now is a good time to let everyone know that I am a big Jacob DeGrom fan, and an even bigger fan of the New York Mets. Let’s get one thing clear, that is NOT why I believe DeGrom is a better pitcher than Cole.
I believe most peoples arguments to rebuke MLB Networks ranking would be the easiest one to make. DeGrom’s back to back Cy Young awards, compared to Cole’s whopping 0 Cy Young awards. That alone should be good enough to have DeGrom ranked higher than Cole in this list. He was named the best pitcher in the National League by way of the Cy Young award not only this season, but the previous season as well. So how is he not the best pitcher in Baseball right now? I don’t believe there is enough of an argument to support MLB Network’s ranking.
Lets take a look at DeGrom and Cole’s ERA (Earned Run Average), WHIP (Walks Hits over Innings Pitched), and WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in the 2019 season, as well as their career totals.
| 2019 Stats/Career | Jacob DeGrom | Gerrit Cole |
| ERA | 2.43/2.62 | 2.50/3.22 |
| WHIP | 0.971/1.053 | 0.895/1.192 |
| WAR | 7.9/34.9 | 6.8/24.0 |
“The proof is in the pudding” said someone a long time ago, not really sure who. But I believe that applies here. If all we have in our recent memory is Gerrit Cole’s stellar performance in the 2019 playoffs, obviously we are going to be high on him. We need to dig just a bit deeper to understand why DeGrom has the edge over Cole, and why the crosstown rivalry is not starting with DeGrom as the underdog.
Gerrit Cole is a pitcher who the Pittsburgh Pirates gave up on and shipped off to Houston because he wasn’t able to get his ERA under 4 and was only able to post a sub 3 ERA in 1 of his first 5 seasons. That is not indicative of a pitcher who can be ranked above DeGrom, who only posted ERA’s over 3 in 2 of his 6 seasons, and posted an eye popping 1.70 ERA only two seasons back. If we get a bit more advanced in our analytical analysis, we clearly see DeGrom’s estabished domincance in his 34.9 WAR, a whole 10.9 points over Cole’s 24.0. This is a great marker in showing how DeGrom’s value as a pitcher to any team is greater than Cole’s over the course of their careers.
In my most humble opinion, I believe MLB Networking ranking Gerrit Cole over Jacob DeGrom in their Top 100 Players Right Now list was an irresponisble decision, which was made with pure hype instead of numbers, and will be looked back at as a “freezing cold take”.
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