2011 Indians Top 50 Prospects: #44 Cole Cook

Cole Cook – Right-handed Pitcher
Born: 10/18/1988 – Height: 6’6” – Weight: 215 – Bats: Right – Throws: Right

(Photo: Tony Lastoria)

History: The Indians selected Cook in the 5^th round of the 2010 Draft out of Pepperdine University. As a draft eligible sophomore, the Indians signed him for $299,000. He was originally drafted out of high school by the Mariners in the 36^th round of the 2007 Draft but did not sign. He missed his entire freshman season in 2008 due to a broken wrist he suffered while pulling the tarp off the field after a rain storm. His father is Peter MacKenzie, a character actor who has appeared in many TV shows and had parts in several major films.

Strengths: Cook is a tall right-handed pitcher with a lanky frame who is a strike thrower and has a good feel for pitching. He comes at hitters from a low three-quarters delivery with a four pitch mix of a fastball, slider, changeup and splitter. His four-seam fastball often works at 88-91 MPH and has touched 94 MPH, and he commands it well with good arm side run and sink down in the zone. His slider is often mistaken for a curveball because of its slurvy action and upper 70s velocity, but while it is an inconsistent pitch, when it is on it has good, tight break. His splitter has good tumbling action and is a pitch he often relies on to put hitters away with two strikes on them. His changeup is a work in progress though is improving and has shown good fade.

Because of Cook’s size it allows him to get good leverage on hitters and keep his ball on a nice downward plane. He has a bit of a herky-jerky delivery which helps create some deception and adds some life to his fastball. He is a tough competitor and very intelligent pitcher who piles up groundballs and aggressively attacks hitters without any fear of pitching inside.  He shows a knack for keeping balls in the yard as in 187 career college innings he allowed just seven home runs. Some comparisons that have been thrown around based solely on look and stuff is that of Jeff and Jerad Weaver.

Opportunities: Cook’s slider is probably his biggest weakness as while it shows good, sharp break at times and has the potential to be a swing-and-miss pitch for him, it is inconsistent and he often has trouble commanding it.  Because of his low arm slot he has a tendency to get under his slider which causes it to flatten out and get pounded. His long frame and herky-jerky delivery leave very little room for error in his delivery mechanics because with so many big moving parts it has a big effect on his command. He needs to continue to get bigger and stronger, and also work on refining his mechanics and the command of his secondary pitches to improve his chances for success.

Outlook: Cook is an advanced college arm who still has a lot of room for growth as a pitcher and may not be even close to all he can be yet. He has the pitch mix to develop into a middle-to-back of the rotation starter – a role he will be developed in initially to see what happens – but his pitching style, acumen, and stuff projects him best as a late inning reliever in the big leagues, possibly a setup man. He should open the 2011 season in the starting rotation at Low-A Lake County and could move quickly to High-A Kinston where he may spend most of his time this season.

Year	Age	Team	Lvl	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	AVG	BB/9	K/9	WHIP
2009	20	Pepperdine	C	7	3	3.69	16	8	83	57	34	4	20	79	.195	2.2	8.6	0.93
2010	21	Pepperdine	C	5	6	2.93	14	13	104	103	34	3	24	87	.258	2.1	7.5	1.22
2010	21	Mahoning Valley	A-	0	3	5.40	4	4	15	14	9	2	8	14	.226	4.8	8.4	1.47
		MiLB Totals		0	3	5.40	4	4	15	14	9	2	8	14	.226	4.8	8.4	1.47

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