Cole Tucker’s rapid ascent to Bradenton fits hometown legacy

The rare opportunity to take the diamond with Mountain Pointe High School’s varsity team as a freshman for Cole Tucker came during the postseason.

The Phoenix school was particularly loaded during the 2011 season — Mountain Pointe finished the year as the top-ranked team in MaxPreps’ computer rankings and breezed to an Arizona state championship — so even a future first-round shortstop like Tucker wasn’t going to have an easy spot on the roster.

A strong enough season during freshman ball, though, persuaded head coach Brandon Buck to add the clearly promising athlete for the playoffs. He just needed to find somewhere to play him.

The infield was crowded. The lineup varied depending on who was pitching, but a rotation of four future professionals usually filled three of the spots. Brantley Bell, who went on to play at State College of Florida and is now with the Reds, had a spot. So did Scott Kingery, now in the Phillies’ system, and Dodgers prospect Joey Curletta. Tucker’s older brother, Quinn, was also a usual starter for the Pride.

“We’re very fortunate to have had some very good baseball players out of here,” Buck said. “Just from me having the opportunity to coach those other boys, you could tell that he was special.”

Cole Tucker, though, was too good to leave at home. His hands were too quick, particularly in the field. Tucker, now one of the most promising minor league shortstops, spent his first season as a varsity athlete at first base.

Five years later, the 19-year-old is accelerating through the minors. Drafted as a 17-year-old in 2014, Tucker played his first full season in the Gulf Coast League and spent all of last year at Class A West Virginia. Now considered the No. 9 prospect in the Pirates’ organization by MLB.com, Tucker made his debut at Class A Advanced on Sunday during the Marauders’ 5-2 win against the Mets.

An injury to Kevin Newman, Pittsburgh’s No. 11 prospect, on Thursday meant a slightly accelerated arrival for the 24th pick in the 2014 draft.

“He’s going to be at the top of that lineup trying to set that tone,” manager Michael Ryan said.

Ryan quickly slotted Tucker into the lead-off spot vacated by Newman and let him loose. Tucker was always planning to make it to McKechnie Field this season, it was just supposed to take more than 15 games with the Power.

Tucker’s frame has filled out since he graduated high school, but he’s still only 19. He’s 6 feet, 3 inches and 185 pounds, yet he hits lasers. His first Florida State League at-bat ended with a rocket up the middle for a single. His next plate appearance was basically the same, hit even harder slightly to the first-base side of second.

He was caught stealing second after his first single and was picked off first after his second. The Pirates, however, encourage such aggressiveness, and with the Marauders, in particular, a willingness to try for the extra bag has led to a first-place club.

“We call it ‘Pirates Pressure Package,’ ” Ryan said. “We try to be the most aggressive baserunning organization in baseball and part of that is stealing bases.”

Tucker added a walk in his third plate appearance and finished his Bradenton debut 2 for 3.

The FSL is a difficult place for power hitters, and the Marauders’ offensive stars the past few seasons have not relied on the long ball. Tucker is similar to Newman, who was among the top hitters in the league this season, and recent stars Austin Meadows and Reese McGuire, who continue to progress through the system without prodigious power.

Like those others, Tucker is a gifted, if raw, hitter and skilled defender. He’s athletic enough to give Pittsburgh faith about his future as a prospect, and he’s ready to become one of the top contributors in Bradenton.

“He just has a tremendous skill set,” Buck said. “He knew that he was going to be a first-round pick. He just knew that, so he was a kid who put in the work to do that.”

This story was originally published May 30, 2016 at 11:29 PM with the headline "Cole Tucker’s rapid ascent to Bradenton fits hometown legacy."