Gerrit Cole flashes 99.6 mph in encouraging Triple-A rehab start
Gerrit Cole hit 99.6 mph in Scranton, and the Yankees are lining up one more rehab start before his return could hit Kansas City.
One more rehab start now looks like the last checkpoint before Gerrit Cole redraws the Yankees’ rotation. In Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s 6-2, 10-inning loss to Syracuse, the right-hander covered 5 1/3 innings on 86 pitches, threw 56 strikes and touched 99.6 mph, the kind of workload New York wanted to see before bringing its ace back.
The velocity was encouraging, but the fuller picture mattered more. Cole averaged 97 mph with his fastball, allowed one run on six hits, struck out six and walked one, all while stretching beyond five innings for the first time in the rehab build-up. For a pitcher returning from Tommy John surgery, that is the difference between a live bullpen feel and something that starts to resemble a major league start again.
The Yankees have treated the process with caution, even after Max Fried went on the 15-day injured list with a left elbow bone bruise. Aaron Boone said the club still expects the slow ramp-up to continue. “The likelihood is two more with him and then we’ll be in position to roll,” Boone said, making it clear New York has no interest in forcing the timeline. The target remains a return during the May 25-27 series against the Royals in Kansas City, barring a change.
Cole’s rehab path has moved from High-A Hudson Valley to Double-A Somerset and now to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, a ladder built to test game stress as much as stuff. Across 29 minor league innings, he has struck out 28 and walked only three, with the latest stretch especially sharp from a command standpoint. He has walked just two batters in 23 2/3 rehab innings, a sign that the fastball is not the only number trending in the right direction.
That progression matters because the surgery behind it was real, not procedural. Cole underwent Tommy John surgery on March 11, 2025, performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and said he expected roughly a 14-month recovery. He said the whole process has been moving the right way: “So far, so good. It’s been a good progression. The pitch count is steadily increasing.” For a Yankees staff that has leaned on depth options like rookie Elmer Rodríguez, Cole’s final rehab steps may be the most important rotation news in the organization.
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