Gerrit Cole and Jose Fernandez will face off this afternoon in Miami, in what has to be one of the more exciting matchups between young pitchers in 2013. Fernandez is just 20 years old and was the 14th pick in 2011 draft that Cole went #1 overall in. He's been excellent for the Marlins this year, striking out 111 batters in 111 2/3 innings. He's also unintentionally walked 42 hitters, which gives him a K/BB of 2.64, and only allowed eight homers. That gives him peripherals that very nearly match his excellent 2.74 ERA.
Cole, of course, has been up-and-down thus far with the Bucs, but his last start against the Nationals was really excellent, holding the Nats to two hits and a run over seven innings. He hasn't quite put together back-to-back good starts yet, so hopefully this can be the one that changes the trend.
First pitch this afternoon is at 1:10.
