Well, the New York Yankees were right about Gerrit Cole. Unfortunately, that has been proven by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pirates chose Cole, the UCLA right-handed starting pitcher, No. 1 overall in the 2011 MLB Draft on Monday night. The Yankees, of course, took Cole in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft despite signability concerns. Cole refused to negotiate with the Yankees and went to college, as many teams had anticipated.
Here is a scouting report:
Cole features nasty heat that sits in the mid- to high 90s and sometimes touches 99 and even 100. He complements his high-heat with one of the drafts best sliders, a truly devastating pitch … The 6-foot-4, 220 pound Cole also offers true inning-eating capability. He’s a horse on the mound, and when he’s on his game there’s nobody better in all of college ball.
The Yankees do not have a first-round pick., They will pick 51st overall, a supplemental pick gained when Florida signed Javier Vazquez.