Though it didn’t necessarily derail their season, losing Gerrit Cole for the entire 2025 season before it even started was a huge blow to the New York Yankees. They still won 94 games, but they fell very short of the ultimate goal, leaving everyone wondering if things would’ve been different had Cole not needed Tommy John surgery.
Now, Cole is finally back on the mound, and he seemingly hasn’t missed a single beat despite not having appeared in a regular season game in almost two years. Cole joins a starting rotation that currently includes Cam Schlittler, Carlos Rodon, Will Warren, and Ryan Weathers. But even with Max Fried on the injured list with a bone bruise, Cole is no longer the team’s best pitcher, which would be Schlittler. Even so, Cole is definitely showing the Yankees just how much he was missed in his absence.
Are We Back In 2019?
Remember in 2019, when the Houston Astros were the best team in baseball, Jacob deGrom won his second straight Cy Young, and Mike Trout won his third MVP? Cole was on that Astros team, and his numbers from that season were absolutely absurd; in 33 starts, Cole led the American League with a 2.50 ERA, led MLB in strikeouts with 326, and even came 10th in AL MVP voting.
Cole hasn’t really reached that level for New York since returning from injury, posting a 2.45 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 22 innings, but it doesn’t really matter simply because the majority pitchers don’t come back at all after having Tommy John, let alone at age 35. Yet, Cole has done it, making the long and grueling journey back to the mound and dominating while doing so.
Gerrit Cole goes just four innings in an outing for the first time since he allowed six runs on seven hits and four walks at the Mets on June 25, 2024 pic.twitter.com/4jSi9n9FFF
— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 10, 2026
Looking under the hood of Cole’s numbers since his return, it becomes quite clear that the 2023 AL Cy Young winner has made a few adjustments since he last pitched. Some adjustments are to be expected, of course, since pitchers are basically learning to throw again from scratch because of Tommy John. With Cole, though, there are a lot of numbers that not only stand out but also point out the insane versatility and adaptability of one of the league’s smartest pitchers.
Contact Approach
For most of his career, Cole racked up strikeouts with ease thanks to his elite, triple-digit fastball, pinpoint command, and vast mix of pitches. Now, as Father Time begins to catch up, Cole has shifted to a more contact-based approach to getting outs. In 2026, Cole’s ground ball (30.2%) and strikeout rates (17.9%) are hitting career lows, and his hard-hit percentage (coincidentally also 30.2%) is at a career high. Baseball Savant also measures his fly ball rate to be 69.8%, the highest of his career; in other words, he’s getting way more soft contact and fewer whiffs.
That doesn’t mean he isn’t throwing as hard with this new style; in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Compared to his average fastball velocity in 2024 (95.8), Cole’s 2026 average thus far is almost a whole mile per hour faster (96.7).
This indicates that Cole is purposely inducing more contact, which in turn could help Cole’s longevity. This is a smart play by Cole and the Yankees’ staff: by making his pitching style more adaptable to his age, the Yankees will hopefully be able to get the most out of their ace in the 2.5 years he has left on his deal. But for now, the Yankees and their fans are just happy to have Cole back in pinstripes in the first place.
Main Image Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
