DIVISIONAL OUTLOOK: NL Central—Can Cole get on a roll?

Pittsburgh Pirates

The rotation run of 22-year-old Gerrit Cole (RHP, PIT) will continue, despite the recent return of Jeanmar Gómez (RHP, PIT). Gomez went five innings in his return from a forearm injury June 26 but now will reportedly pitch out of the bullpen. Some may decry that as an injustice, given Gomez’s surface stats, but his underlying skills justify the decision (xERA 4.13, BPV 36). Simply put, Gomez has not shown he is ready to be a sub-4.00 ERA in the major leagues, much less a sub-3.00 one. His Dom has inched up in 2013 as has his GB%, but his Cmd is still well below 2.0.

Cole, meanwhile, is 4-0, but only one of those starts was a PQS-DOM. As his 6.2 Dom at AAA-Indianapolis suggested, Cole may not be ready to make major...

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