Quick, show of hands: Who had Gerrit Cole and A.J. Burnett in the preseason poll of "best pitching duos in baseball"?
Put your hand down.
OK, maybe somewhere, there is a ridiculously optimistic Pittsburgh Pirates booster who believed that Cole and Burnett would combine for 4.6 WAR on June 23, per FanGraphs, and own two of the top five ERAs in the National League.
But for those who don't bleed black and yellow, it's something of a shock.
That's not to say Cole and Burnett are undeserving of their success or that they came out of nowhere.