Pittsburgh Pirates’ Gerrit Cole could make MLB debut Tuesday
By Matt Shetler
Pittsburgh Pirates fans may get their wish and get it relatively soon.
Pirates stud prospect Gerrit Cole, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft out of UCLA, is “very likely” to make his big-league debut Tuesday versus the Giants, according to Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
July 8, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; USA pitcher Gerrit Cole delivers a pitch during the second inning of the 2012 All Star Futures Game at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Cole came into the season ranked as a top-10 prospect by both Baseball America and MLB.com, and the 22-year-old right-hander has started 12 games at Triple-A with a 2.91 ERA and 47/28 K/BB ratio in 68 innings.
After a rocky start to the season, Cole has dazzled, posting an 0.90 ERA while only allowing five hits and is currently on a 19.2 scoreless innings streak. In his last start on Wednesday, Cole retired 21 of the 22 batters he faced and his 88th pith of the game reached 99 mph.
However there is one area of concern when it comes to promoting Cole.
So far this season he has averaged only 6.2 strikeouts per nine innings while walking 3.7 batters per nine innings and has yet to fan more than five batters in any start.
However the opposition is hitting only .190 against him this season so there are more signs than not that point to Cole being ready.
The immediate plan looks like he will fill in for the injured Wandy Rodriguez, but it’s unclear right now if Cole is in the Prates plans for the remainder of the season.
If Cole stays up for the rest of the season, it’s not yet clear whether he would have Super Two status, but it looks likely that he wouldn’t.
That would make him arbitration-eligible after the 2016 season and eligible for free agency after 2019, which was the Pirates goal in terms of deciding when to promote the former No. 1 overall pick.