Rendon vs. Cole!!

by Aggiefan17 on Feb 28, 2026 12:22 AM EST

I play in an NL only keeper league, and have one more spot for my keeper list. 8 of my 9 spots are filled, and I am debating between Anthony Rendon and Gerrit Cole for the last spot. I don't want to keep either if they won't be in the majors until 2013, unless you believe one of them or both are super studs and are worth holding onto for a year. What do you guys think??

Tweet Comment 13 comments | Add comment | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Read More: Gerrit Cole (P - PIT), Anthony Rendon (3B - WAS)

Comments

I don't play fantasy, but I'll try to offer insight.

I like Rendon a lot, and think he’s going to be very good. Rendon will probably help in the average department, but I don’t think he’ll hit many home runs until maybe his 3rd or 4th year. I honestly don’t know much about Cole, but he’s obviously supposed to be super good too. Also, to answer your main question, there is little chance either will be in the majors until 2013. Whether that is worth it or not, that is up to you.

by MilesC on Feb 28, 2026 1:07 AM EST reply actions

Keep Rendon

thats my insight.

XandyMan Coming for you!!!!1

by DominicanDandy on Feb 28, 2026 1:33 AM EST reply actions

Don't keep either.

Cole won’t see the majors until 2013 at the earliest, and Rendon hasn’t played a single inning of professional baseball and has major questions about his health.

by WhyGodWhy on Feb 28, 2026 2:24 AM EST reply actions

Neither

Neither of them will play meaningful innings in 2012. I’d look somewhere else on your roster, or sell them to a guy that is rebuilding and looking for help in 2013. Those names should bring back something favorable for this year.

by Mike Kaluk on Feb 28, 2026 8:50 AM EST reply actions

If you're only concerned with 2012

then neither one will help you much. But part of the point of keeper leagues is that you hold on to guys who may be a few years away if only to keep them out of the overall player pool for other league members.

In a general sense, I like Rendon over Cole for fantasy, but I’ll almost always take a bat over an arm if they are close.

by pooptallica on Feb 28, 2026 9:30 AM EST reply actions

Let me put it this way

I think Cole has a MUCH better shot at reaching the bigs in 2012. That being said, the likelihood of Cole contributing in 2012 for fantasy is somewhere around 5% (vs. 0.00001% for Rendon). If you say you need 2012 production, pass on both.

by guru4u on Feb 28, 2026 1:54 PM EST reply actions

This seems about spot on

although I think even 5% is too high. Maybe 2%.

Twitter
Buried Treasure - #3 Prospect Starling Marte
Buried Treasure - Reaction: Ryan Braun Wins his Appeal

by McCutchenIsTheTruth on Feb 28, 2026 6:57 PM EST up reply actions

define contributing

not being an ass here, but in many leagues if someone with big name value like Cole gets called up many of the rebuilding teams go crazy for that type of player.

There is a solid chance of his trade value contributing significantly. If you have a team that perennially competes for titles then you realize the importance of prospects/upside guys in order to make deals with teams that drop out of the race.

BTW I take Cole over Rendon in a heartbeat. Rendon has both power and injury questions, Cole only has pitcher questions and I think the whole TINSTAAPP is overrated.

by pedrophile on Feb 29, 2026 10:49 AM EST up reply actions

Good point

I only considered the player’s contributions in the bigs - not trade value. I guess the way I thought about it was Cole has around a 10% chance of being called up to the majors, and maybe half the time he does something of value from a fantasy standpoint. If you factor in trade value, maybe that percentage bumps up to close to 10%.

That being said, 10% still is not enough to gamble on actually keeping him if he bumps a contributing player off your keeper list.

BTW I am with you Pedro. Rendon’s shoulder injury scares the heck out of me. He missed the AFL because he was not fully healthy, and at this point I need to see him fully healthy on the field before considering him over a potential future ace like Cole.

by guru4u on Feb 29, 2026 11:52 AM EST up reply actions