The Rockies are in agreement with utilityman Cole Tucker on a minor league contract, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). He’ll receive an invitation to big league Spring Training.
Tucker was a first-round selection of the Pirates, going 24th overall out of an Arizona high school in 2014. For the next half-decade, he appeared among the top ten prospects in the Pittsburgh system at Baseball America. A speedster who saw a fair bit of time up the middle of the diamond, Tucker never consistently performed offensively at the upper levels. He owns a .238/.333/.372 line over parts of three Triple-A campaigns.
Despite that tepid offensive output in the upper minors, Tucker got MLB looks with the Bucs in each of the past four seasons. He’s combined for 469 plate appearances at the top level, hitting .211/.259/.314 with five home runs. He’s walked at a below-average 6% clip while striking out 27.5% of the time. The Pirates waived Tucker at the start of June, and he landed with the Diamondbacks. Arizona ran him through outright waivers a month later, and he qualified for minor league free agency at the end of the season.
Now 26 years old, Tucker will join the third organization of his career. He offers the Rockies a solid athlete with the ability to play everywhere other than catcher. Coors Field offers plenty of ground to cover in the outfield, so Tucker’s plus speed would make him an interesting depth outfielder if he shows enough offensively to earn a big league job.
Tucker has failed to make it to the majors despite being the Bucs #1 pick in 2014
And he’ll fail with the Rockies
And you will fail too
I’m not a player, I’m a retired Environmental Scientist
No you aint
ain’t? the correct word is “ aren’t “ and it requires an apostrophe
Disinformation. He made it to the majors. Just wasn’t any good.
I thought this guy was a superstar because he had long hair
Super talented. He can definitely turn his career around.
No. He is not. After watching this guy for several years, the only talent he has is his hair.
Hey, don’t knock it, it worked for Samson *drumroll*
(Long time reader, first time poster and THIS is my first comment? “Seriously?!” the populace asks) 😛
If he was that talented, the Rockies wouldn’t be his third club in 1-1/2 years
Is this guy still banging Vanessa Hudgens? If so, good job.
Interesting? The only thing interesting about Tucker is his hair and his girlfriend.
Great personality and likeable guy. I wish him well but I don’t expect it either.
Nice replacement for Garrett Hampson. He’ll be a late inning pinch runner/defensive replacement and probably start 2-3 games a week at different positions.to give the regulars a rest.
Watching him play both shortstop and in the outfield last year with the Bucs, his arm can be erratic at times
He does possess good speed, and should be instructed to bunt for hits. At the plate overall, he’s a strike out machine
Another bad draft by the Pirates.
2014, in their defense, wasn’t a good year for amateur draft picks
That pic would be a cool design for a baseball card. Just saying.
He’s a good dude, I wish him well, but was never thrilled with that pick.
A minor league deal for minor league talent
First off, Tucker was always a stand up guy here in Pittsburgh. No baloney. No excuses. Beyond his play, you again have to wonder about the Pirates scouting and development personnel. Watch him play a couple games and it’s clear his lot in life would be utility player
Nothing wrong with that, of course, but not emblematic of what you’d want in a first round pick The Pirates seem to have a knack for fouling up like this which makes this upcoming first overall pick even more intriguing.
While I agree, Tucker has a great personality and was well liked in Pittsburgh, he also played for Arizona’s AAA team last year and they couldn’t improve his offensive either
So just maybe he doesn’t have the talent or ability to play better and it’s not the fault of the Pirates
Hope they aren’t expecting him to replace Garrett Hampson, pretty big downgrade even if we’re only talking about a bench spot.