Cole Tucker Fantasy

The Pittsburgh Pirates optioned shortstop Cole Tucker to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday because management would like to see him play every day in the minors rather than sitting the bench regularly behind Kevin Newman to start the 2020 season. General manager Ben Cherington expects Tucker to contribute in the majors soon, and the Pirates think he'll be their shortstop of the future. He hit just .211/.266/.361 in the majors last year but was 8-for-27 with three home runs and as many walks (four) as strikeouts in the Grapefruit League. He's also versatile and can play both shortstop and second base. Tucker is a good stash in dynasty leagues, but he can go undrafted in most mixed leagues.

3 months ago

The Pittsburgh Pirates sent third base prospect Ke'Bryan Hayes, baseball's No. 41 overall prospect, to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday. The team also sent Geoff Hartlieb, Sam Howard, Jason Martin, Yacksel Rios, Edgar Santana and Cole Tucker to Indy. The 23-year-old Hayes, the team's No. 2 prospect behind Mitch Keller, hit .280/.400/.440 with a home run and a double in 13 Grapefruit League at-bats before spring training was shut down. He also walked five times, struck out four times and didn't commit an error at the hot corner in 13 chances. Hayes has more power to come and won a minor league Gold Glove last year as one of the top third base prospects in all of baseball. He's expected to take over the starting gig for the Pirates at third base at some point in 2020, although that could be more difficult now with the season not expected to begin until possibly June.

3 months ago

The Pittsburgh Pirates optioned shortstop Cole Tucker to Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday. Tucker didn't fare too well in his first taste of major league pitching in 112 at-bats, hitting .196/.244/.321 with two home runs, 11 runs, nine RBI and no stolen bases. Kevin Newman will continue to serve as the team's starting shortstop, although he's cooled off quite a bit after a hot start. Tucker has wheeler -- he stole 35 bases in 2018 and 47 in the minors in 2017 -- and he'll likely be back with the Bucs later this year. He should only be stashed in deeper dynasty/keeper leagues.

over a year ago