Pirates believe Cole Tucker can rob homers in center, even after his miss against Reds - TribLIVE

sirangsiram.blogspot.com

When Nicholas Castellanos came to bat with two outs and a runner on second base, Pittsburgh Pirates outfield coach Tarrik Brock signaled for Cole Tucker to move in at center field in anticipation of making a throw to the plate.

“I felt good about that,” Tucker said, “because I want to save the out.”

What the Pittsburgh Pirates’ converted center fielder felt bad about was how he couldn’t save the homer that followed. When Castellanos’ shot off Chris Stratton sailed 399 feet — and just an inch over Tucker’s outstretched glove at the wall in the Cincinnati Reds’ 8-1 win over the Pirates on Friday night at Great American Ball Park — Tucker slumped to the warning track, raised his gloved left hand and slammed it to the surface in frustration.

Look at Castellanos man, so inspirational. #TakeTheCentral pic.twitter.com/y8g6wFIlQn

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 15, 2020

After a long-winded recounting of the play, he apologized — not just for an explanation that was longer than his route to the wall and for failing to save a three-run homer but for the choice words the camera caught Tucker muttering to himself on the live telecast.

“My mom texted me and told me that I used some bad language after I realized that I didn’t catch it,” Tucker said, “so you could kind of see that I thought I had it or thought I could have had it. …

“That’s the first time I’ve ever really had a play like that. I had the play in Cleveland (last month), but that’s the first time I’ve ever really attempted to rob a home run. So I was obviously really frustrated I didn’t save it, but I felt good about the route that I took, and I felt good about the effort and the energy on the play.”

The play was symbolic of the ups and downs in Tucker’s transition from shortstop to outfielder this shortened season, one that started with a spectacular sliding-on-his-knees catch at the left-center wall in Cleveland in an exhibition game and later included a costly misread on a double against Minnesota.

The Pirates see potential in the 24-year-old Tucker, a 2014 first-round pick who found himself behind Kevin Newman at shortstop, so after the “idea sort of percolated” between the front office and coaching staff in spring training, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said, they decided to give Tucker a test on July 17 during training camp.

The Pirates are trying to take advantage of his size (6-foot-3) and above-average speed at a position where they traded two-time Gold Glove winner Starling Marte in January and have little long-term depth behind Jarrod Dyson, who at 35 is no longer an everyday player.

As much as the Pirates love Tucker’s athleticism to adapt quickly to his new position, they seem to love how he is embracing the move — and opportunity to play in the majors — even more. Tucker comes to play with a positive outlook and a willingness to work, attributes that go beyond his aggressiveness in the outfield.

“We know his attitude is always going to be good,” Cherington said. “He’s always going to come to the ballpark trying to learn and get better. His energy is fun to be around. I think he likes the challenge of learning a new position. We’re encouraged by it.”

What Pirates manager Derek Shelton is encouraged by is how Tucker played the ball on Castellanos’ home run, not to mention the 2-for-3 night that boosted his batting average back to .200 (6 for 30). With a 104.2-mph exit velocity and a 38-degree launch angle, the hit reached 136 feet at its apex and sailed to the right of dead center and Tucker had to track it while running toward the wall. From his vantage point, Shelton said, he couldn’t see how close Tucker was to catching the ball. But how he played it gave Shelton confidence that Tucker will soon be using his length to his advantage.

“He got to the wall, which again we’ve talked about is tough. He made a good jump,” Shelton said. “The fact that he got to the wall and got up, yeah, he’s gonna rob some homers. He’s gonna take balls away. He said he was really close to it. … That’s a good sign.”

That’s the positive for Tucker, considering he is just shy of spending one month in the outfield. He’s listening to and learning from Brock, bench coach Don Kelly and Dyson, a 10-year veteran regarded as an elite defensive center fielder. But after playing strictly as a shortstop until this season, the hardest thing for Tucker is learning how to judge the trajectory of the ball off the bat, especially whether to stand pat or move forward or backwards on line drives.

The scariest thing, Tucker says, is working with the wall after years of playing in space at shortstop.

“The walls are malleable,” Tucker said, noting the differences at NL Central ballparks alone, especially the ivy-covered brick walls at Wrigley Field. “Learning all the different walls in the league is going to be fun, but it’s going to be challenging, because they’re always there and you always got to be aware of it.”

Tucker appeared well aware of the wall at Great American Ball Park, shortening his steps to time his jump on Castellanos’ homer. What he wore afterward was the look of someone who believes he should have caught it.

“Everything’s coming on the fly, and you guys are kind of able to see me learn as we go, which is exciting, but it’s also kind of daunting at the same time,” Tucker said, “because that was my first time robbing a home run, and you guys and everyone that watched the game and everyone on the field saw it.

“It wasn’t like I did it in early work before. It’s not something that you really practice, and kudos to Ben and Shelty and them for trusting me to go out there and be athletic and just figure it out, but it is a lot. It’s really fun, and there’s a lot of energy that goes into my outfield play, and I’m having fun with it, but yeah, it’s a testament to the progress and it’s a testament to the game teaching you along the way, for sure.”

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Pirates/MLB | Sports