The Washington Nationals continue to slip into their early downward spiral, and matters did not get better this past weekend. Their ace, Max Scherzer, jammed his thumb batting Thursday night, and the Nationals are forced to skip his start Tuesday night against the Braves. Being called up in his stead, and to stop the bleeding of a six game losing streak is rookie A.J. Cole. Don’t worry, kid, no pressure.
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Cole is the No. 48 prospect in baseball on the Grading on the Curve Top 50 and the No. 3 prospect in the Nationals’ farm system. The 23-year old righty was a fourth round draft pick of the Nationals back in 2010. Coming off his best season as a pro (13-3 and a 3.13 ERA across two levels, including a 7-0 run in his Triple-A debut with Syracuse), Cole was probably good enough to be a Major League pitcher in any other rotation that didn’t possess Scherzer, Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, Doug Fister and Jordan Zimmerman. Instead of making Cole a bullpen arm, the Nats did the right thing, and let him get consistent work as a starter in Syracuse to start the 2015 season.
Cole has been in the Nationals organization twice, so they clearly have high expectations for him. He was initially traded to Oakland in the Gio Gonzalez deal, but the Nationals got him back a year later in the Michael Morse deal with Seattle.
Now, they need him. Badly. The heavily favorited Nationals are sinking lower every day, and maybe Cole is what the Nationals need. Cole had yet to pick up a win at Syracuse this season, but had pitched masterfully. He had been a bit hittable (18 hits allowed) but his impeccable control limited walks and allowed him to pitch in and out of trouble. Thus far, Cole is 0-0 with a 2.40 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP and a 10:1 K:BB rate.
Cole brings a fastball that isn’t necessarily overpowering (sitting in the low to mid-90s), but is highly effective as Cole can hit both sides of the plate at will with its location. His changeup is the perfect contrast to his fastball, and his slider has developed into a sharp pitch that gives him a solid three-pitch arsenal. How it will be perceived on the big league level is still unknown, but the Nationals will find out tonight.
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Choosing Cole, it appears, saves Tanner Roark from having to throw into the sixth inning and leaves him for the bullpen. It is easy to assume that Cole is around for one start (as long as Scherzer doesn’t hit the disabled list) and then headed back to Syracuse.
But what if he wins in dominating fashion tonight? What if he comes out and ends this six game losing streak? The Nationals need something to boost them, and if Cole does just that, he will make it very hard to send him back down to the minors.