The Yankees thought they’d taken a major step towards fixing their future rotation issues by taking hard-throwing Bronx Bombers fan Gerrit Cole at the tail end of the first round in 2008, signabilty issues be damned.
Turns out, New York had found their future ace, but the path Cole took to get there was far from linear.
When you’re stuck at the back of the first round, sometimes you need to take chances on impact talent rather than settle on easy, low-ceiling signs, though, and New York gambled on Cole (Baseball America’s 17th-ranked prospect) at No.