Gerrit Cole's Surprise Ranking By Mlb Network Has Us All Talking!

MLB Network has an offseason tradition that some prople really like. On Saturday, the top ten starting pitchers were revealed and Gerrit Cole was on the list, but some Yankee fans may not like where he was ranked.

Our new ace was unranked last season which is crazy to think about. The Yankees have been in love with Cole for a long time because baseball fans everywhere consider him to be one of the best (if not THE best) in the game. The Yankees have been trying to get Cole for years, so how could he have been unranked until now? So I guess finally getting on this list is recognition he deserves, but should he be ranked third best?

That’s where MLB Networks “The Shredder” has ranked him. If you are unfamiliar with “The Shredder” it is a tool that factors Statcast data with a mix of analytics and traditional statistics. So those of you who like to talk about WAR, it is factored into the rankings. It is also important
to know that the rating formula used focuses on player performances from the past two seasons and a variety of offensive and defensive numbers and no human bias is incorporated into the ranking process.

Even though there is no human bias in the rankings I still find the lists to be debatable. I’ve never been a huge fan of MLB Network’s “The Shredder” specials that list the top 10 “right now” as they call it but my husband loves them. Here is the rankings that came out this weekend.

Are there any names missing on this list but are included on yours? I have a big one that isn’t included. How did World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg not make the cut? He dominated during the playoffs and then got a big fat payday during the offseason but doesn’t get a ranking. It doesn’t make sense. And if these rankings are based on two years of stats I would think Chris Sale should also land somewhere on this list (as much as I hate to admit it).

And how is Hyun-jin Ryu number five in the rankings above Zack Greinke? And Mike Clevinger and Jack Flaherty are on this list? They are absolutely good pitchers. They are difference makers for sure, but top 10? I think that is a stretch. They would not crack the top in my rankings.

As we said before, human bias plays no part in these rankings but it makes me sick to my stomach that a disgrace to the game of baseball is ranked number two right now. Justin Verlander complained about cheating when he was a Detroit Tiger but two months later when he was traded to the Houston ASSTROS he became a hypocrite and participated in a massive cheating scandal that proves he has no integrity and compromised the game. He should not get recognition for being a top ten pitcher in baseball for that especially after VERLANDER POKES FUN ABOUT THE ASTROS CHEATING & FAILS.  He’s a disgrace to the game we all love.

At any rate, here is a complete list of “The Shredder” top ten right now for every position. Even if we had no bias about Cole, would you still rank Cole as number three? Tell us what you think.

–Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj