Charles LeClaire – USA TODAY SPORTS
Anytime an organization’s number one draft pick takes the mound for his first big league start, it’s bound to create some buzz. Visions of Steven Strasburg and Matt Harvey dance fancifully in the minds of the faithful. At the very least, fans hope The Great [insert almost any ethnicity these days] Hope doesn’t turn out to be a big fat buzz kill and shows at least some promise in helping the team move one step closer to the playoff promised land. Whether Gerrit Cole can be that guy and back up the buzz that surrounds his first MLB appearance Tuesday night in the first of three Pittsburgh Pirates home games against the San Francisco Giants remains to be seen, but the buzz is definitely there.
Not since Kris Benson, the number one-overall draft pick back in 1996, made his debut for the Pirates back in the spring of 1999 has a young pitcher had this much promise, talent and anticipation behind him. The buzz is there. It might not be Strasburg-like, but it’s there. Cole could be the difference between the Pirates watching or playing the game of baseball come this October.
Advancing rapidly through the minors in his first two years with the Bucs, many thought the 22-year-old right-hander should have made the team right out of spring training this season, pitching effectively in the limited number of innings he was allowed to work. It was obvious that management already had a plan though and Cole, not hiding his dissatisfaction at the demotion, would start the season at AAA Indianapolis. But there was no doubt Cole would be called up sooner or later, and his minor league numbers the first two months of the season (a 2.98 ERA while allowing only 44 hits in 67 innings) only supported the decision to make it sooner.
While the Pirates starting rotation has been great, it has showed some early signs of leaking oil here and there, with injuries and inexperience lurking in the background. Gerrit Cole could provide a big shot in the arm to the staff with a solid performance that keeps him in town for more than just a cup of coffee. The Newport Beach native drafted out of UCLA appears to have all the goods to be a top of the rotation-type guy. At 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, Cole could step in for Big Ben if the Pittsburgh Steelers were ever in a pinch. It would be hard to tell the difference under the helmet and shoulders with the name Roethlisburger plastered on his back.
Gerrit Cole will be tossing baseballs instead of defensive linemen though this season; and for years to come hopefully. The buzz is there.
Stacey Kengal is a Pittsburgh Pirates writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @StaceyKengal, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+ .
