Gerrit Cole won’t be taking the mound for the All-Star Game Tuesday night after throwing a career-high 129 pitches on Saturday, but he is still in Denver and talking up his fellow All-Stars ahead of the Midsummer Classic.
Cole is specifically looking forward to watching two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani in action, as the Angels phenomenon will pitch and bat leadoff on Tuesday.
“I’m really glad that he’s been able to stay healthy,” Cole said. “I hope he continues on this path for the rest of his career. He’s such a pleasure to watch, he’s really humble, and he’s obviously something that I’ve never seen before. At any given time, he most likely has the most power, the most velocity, the most speed on the field, and to have all those attributes in one player, and the personality to go along with it, he’s so good for the game, and it’s inspiring to watch.”
Ohtani’s teammate Mike Trout was on an All-Star pace before injuring his hamstring, but that doesn’t change Cole’s choice when asked who is the toughest hitter the Yankee ace has ever faced. After two seasons with the Astros in the AL West, Cole had multiple looks at Trout, who he considers to be the toughest out.
“The best hitter I ever faced is probably Mike Trout, especially considering the track record and playing within the prime,” Cole said. “That’s not to say that Albert Pujols isn’t right there with him, or Miguel Cabrera isn’t right there with him, it’s just not, it’s a little different than it was 10 years ago. So I gotta go with Mike Trout, and a close second would be Juan Soto.”
Soto represents a group of dynamic young stars in the game, and Cole made sure to show his admiration for that core, particularly Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ronald Acuna Jr.
“Dude, those players are fantastic," Cole said. "I mean, Tatis is super blessed to be coming through a baseball family, and he’s handled all the big money and the spotlight, big moments so well. Just great energy, good smile, you can’t say enough about some of these players.
"Every time players like that start the game off, as a player, you’re engaged right away, because you have no other choice, and I’m assuming as a fan, it’s the same thing. Just really stoked that these guys are blossoming, and that they’re doing it consistently and they’re able to stick around and continue to get better and we have a really long time to look forward to watching them play.”
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