Cole Tucker finds mojo in Miami, finally getting in groove at plate for Pirates
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Since spring training, Cole Tucker has been on a soul-searching mission to establish a solid foundation with the Pittsburgh Pirates. It started at the plate, where the emphasis to stay grounded has helped him soar.
Tucker might have found his mojo in Miami. He went 6 for 11 (.545) in the three-game series against the Marlins over the weekend to raise his batting average by 57 points, to .211 for the season.
“Those results showed up, but it’s an everyday kind of work in progress of trying to find that, find my footing in the cage — no pun intended,” Tucker said. “The work is there. The results are getting there. Just trying to piece it together. … Just trying to be productive and make it happen a little bit here down the stretch.”
The 2014 first-round pick was running out of time to make a positive impact on the Pirates, after bouncing back and forth between the majors and Triple-A Indianapolis with a post-spring training stretch spent retooling his offensive game at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla.
In his first 13 games in the majors this season, Tucker batted .143 (3 for 21). Since being recalled on Aug. 28 when the Pirates released right fielder Gregory Polanco, Tucker is hitting .236 (13 for 55) in 17 games.
That includes 14 starts, playing four positions. Tucker started six games at shortstop, four in right field, three at second base and one in center. A natural middle infielder, Tucker is starting to get used to right field.
“I feel comfortable out there, and I feel athletic out there, and I feel like I can catch the ball and know how to throw it,” Tucker said, although he noted playing right at PNC Park is a different animal. “The wall is kind of unpredictable there, and you don’t know how it’s going to bounce or what it’s going to do based on what material it hits off of. But I feel comfortable there, too.”
Most importantly, Tucker is getting in a groove at the plate. Pirates manager Derek Shelton credited Tucker with taking good swings and having “really consistent at-bats” against the Marlins. Tucker went 1 for 3 with a sacrifice fly in Friday’s 2-1 win, 3 for 5 with a triple and an RBI single in Saturday’s 6-3 win and 2 for 3 with a double and three runs scored in Sunday’s 6-5 walk-off loss in 10 innings.
“I think it’s just signs of Cole getting better,” Shelton said. “It’s very rewarding because I know he’s doing a lot of hard work in the cage.”
Tucker is making hard contact more consistently or, as Shelton put it, hitting the ball “right on the screws.” Tucker registered four of the top 15 exit velocities in the Marlins series, topping 100 mph four times (104.5, 104.4, 104.1 and 103.4) and 96 mph once.
“That’s what I’m striving to do every time — to hit it on the head — and (to) have real, true legit success all weekend was really fun,” Tucker said. “I’m going to try to carry it over into Cincinnati.”