There is no longer a Jacob deGrom vs. Gerrit Cole debate after Friday night

With another stellar outing Friday night, Jacob deGrom put the debate over who the best pitcher in baseball is to bed.

The debate over who the best pitcher in baseball is generally centers on the Big Apple these days, be it the Bronx (Gerrit Cole) or Queens (Jacob deGrom). On Friday night against the Washington Nationals, deGrom further asserted himself in any debate.

deGrom shut out the Nationals on two hits, while striking out a career-high 15 and walking none.  He also went 2-for-4 at the plate, with a double, an RBI and two runs scored in the Mets’ 6-0 win. With 50 strikeouts now, he has passed Nolan Ryan in 1978 and Shane Bieber this year for the most strikeouts in the first four starts of a season.

deGrom is the third pitcher to strike out 14 or more in three straight starts, joining Pedro Martinez in 1999 and Cole in 2019. Along with 43 strikeouts over his last three starts, deGrom has walked just one in that span.

Jacob deGrom has put the debate between he and Cole to bed

Through four starts this season, with his next start coming Saturday against the Cleveland Indians, Cole has a 1.82 ERA (0.95 FIP), a 0.81 WHIP, 39 strikeouts (14.2 K/9) and just three walks (1.1 BB/9) over 24.2 innings.

deGrom now has a major league-leading 0.31 ERA (0.86 FIP),  a 0.55 WHIP, the aforementioned 50 strikeouts (15.5 K/9) and three walks (0.9 BB/9) over 29 innings.

This is a new level for deGrom, which is saying something. He has won two Cy Young Awards in his career (2018 and 2019), with a top-5 finish in the voting last year and two other top-10 finishes (2015 and 2017).

Over the last four seasons (80 starts), deGrom has a 2.00 ERA with a 0.92 WHIP, a 11.9 K/9 and a 1.9 BB/9 (22.2 bWAR). Over that same span (81 starts, with his 82nd coming Saturday), Cole has a 2.66 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, a 13.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 (15.5 bWAR).

It’s not that Cole is a stiff, he’s definitely not. But deGrom is pitching like no one else right now, currently or even historically seemingly with every outing he makes. So the debate between the two New York aces should be put to bed.