Gerrit Cole vs Jacob deGrom: Who is New York’s Finest?
2019 performance
Gerrit Cole entered the offseason as the prized starting pitcher in MLB free agency history, and deservedly so. In 2019, his best season by far, he posted a 2.50 ERA in 212.1 innings pitched. He lead the league with 326 strikeouts- the most by any pitcher since Randy Johnson in 2002.
He also led the league in ERA+ (185) and strikeouts/9 (13.8). He also pitched to a 20-5 record, but we are going to ignore wins and losses when comparing Cole and deGrom.
In 2019, Jacob deGrom was coming off one of the most dominant seasons by a pitcher in recent memory. He earned 99% of first-place votes in Cy Young voting after pitching to a ridiculous 1.70 ERA, 218 ERA+, and 1.98 FIP.
How did deGrom follow up his Cy Young campaign? With another one in 2019. While he did not replicate his impossibly incredible 2018 season, deGrom still posted a 2.43 ERA, 255 strikeouts, and 2.67 FIP.
While Cole got snubbed by his ex-teammate, Justin Verlander, of his first-ever Cy Young Award, the numbers show that Cole was the more dominant pitcher in 2019. DeGrom got the hardware, but Cole got the record-breaking contract for his performance.
Advantage: Gerrit Cole