Video: A Sharp Bryce Harper Single Aside, Gerrit Cole Strong in Second AFL Outing

Gerrit Cole has quickly caught the attention of

Pittsburgh and perhaps some opponents too. Obviously throwing 100 miles an hour will do that. But when Cole started mixing in some other effective piches, we can only imagine the reaction.

Cole allowed one ball to be hit hard and that was of course Scottdale Scorpion Bryce Harper. The video of Harper’s single is below courtesy of RMRism’s channel.

Cole pitched three innings, allowed two hits, struckout three and walked one. He threw 53 pitches with 33 strikes. He recorded one groundout and four flyouts.  The Scottsdale lineup was filled with talent including Baseball America’s numerou uno Mike Trout, and against such talented players it surprised me to see Cole pitch that well.  Trout grounded out and popped out to third base.  Brandon Crawford flew out and struckout.

The downside of Cole’s day were minimal.  A walk to Hank Conger.  A few too many pitches in the second inning when Harper ripped the single and Joe Panik had a soft single.  But unlike his debut, Cole bore down and got the final outs of the second inning with a strikeout and a flyout.  Cole’s third inning was an efficient three up and three down.

We can’t stop smiling.  The sound of Cole popping the glove from that video, is still echoing in my ears.  I need to listen to it again.

Yeh, that’s some serious pop.  It’s hard to imagine what the ceiling is for Cole given that he still needs to learn how to pitch as a professional.  He has the stuff, watching him develop it should be a damn good time.

If you want to get your blood pumping, go read Dejan’s excellent story from the game.