Pittsburgh Pirates Promote Gerrit Cole to Double-A
By Matt Shetler
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Friday that 2011 N0.1 overall pick Gerrit Cole has been promoted to Double-A and will make his debut for the Altoona Curve on Wednesday.
It’s no real surprise giving Cole’s numbers.
With High-A Bradenton, Cole was 5-1 with a 2.55 ERA in 13 starts. He struck out 69, walked 21, and allowed 53 hits in 67 innings of work.
However you have to wonder why it took the Bucs so long to make the move., since the two college pitchers taken immediatedly after him, Danny Hultzen by Seattle and Trevor Bauer by Arizona are pitching in Double-A and Triple-A respectively.
Although the Bucs have moved him along slowly, Cole has been pitching like a No. 1 overall pick should and that’s a great sign.
As for 2010 first round pick Jameson Taillion, he should be in Altoona before the year is out and likely would be now had he not been hit hard his past four starts.
Taillion, after a great start to his pro career has seen his numbers at Bradenton balloon to 3-6 with a 4.52 ERA. He has lost three of his last four starts and in that span has pitched 19.1 innings, allowed 28 hits and allowed 20 runs.
The good news is that Taillon’s control isn’t an issue as he’s struck out 62 batters on the season to only 17 walks. Once he gets back to form, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Taillion join Cole in Altoona fairly soon.
It will be interesting to see how Cole fairs in Double-A and if things go well, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in Pittsburgh sometime next season.