You hear the laugh in the clubhouse before you see him. That No. 3 jersey, belonging to Cole Tucker, is back at PNC Park, and all the energy and excitement that comes with him wasn't far behind. Friday, the team recalled Tucker from Class AAA Indianapolis, sending reliever Geoff Hartlieb down in the process.
For a struggling Pirates team in need of some positivity, Tucker's arrival is well received. Here's how he addressed a swarm of cameras from local media Friday at PNC Park:
So yeah. It took precisely no time at all for Tucker to remind everyone exactly how excited he is to be back and to be livin' that Major-League dream with the Pirates.
The move is doubly appreciated by Tucker, who is excited to not only showcase his improvements as a player but to reconnect with his friends and former teammates at the lower levels.
It got even better. Here he is talking about fellow rookie Bryan Reynolds and the remarkable season he's pieced together:
Just a little animated.
But that's Tucker, who was previously called up by the Pirates in late April before being optioned back to Triple-A on June 8 as his hitting slowly declined at the big-league level. He hit .196 (22 for 112) with eight doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs in 38 games during that first run, learning plenty about himself as a player and as a person in the process.
In Triple-A since that demotion, however, Tucker's seen a bit more success, slashing .250/.336/.370, with a .706 OPS, five home runs, 20 RBIs and six stolen bases in 54 games. Now, he looks forward to not only showing the Pirates exactly what he learned in his time in Indianapolis, but continuing to learn from big-league opposition.
"Obviously just trying to have more consistent, professional at-bats and just learning what the league is teaching me," Tucker was telling us at his locker Friday before the team's game vs. the Cubs at PNC Park. "Obviously, playing at the highest level, these pitchers kind of have an idea what they're doing. [Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester and Jose Quintana] have been in the big leagues for longer than I've been alive, so I'm just trying to learn what they're trying to teach me and how they're trying to attack me."
To Tucker, that first stint with the Pirates this season served as a humbling and, at times, frustrating experience. Now, though? He believes he's better for it — not just on the field in a physical, pure-baseball sense, but for the level of appreciation and respect he's gained for the game.
"It's unbelievable," Tucker said. "It's even more humbling the higher you get because it does get harder and the competition stiffer, and it is what it is. But it's also the coolest thing ever to be able to play at the highest level, so to be here and to be back here is super humbling, as well, because you know how hard it is to get here, how hard it is, obviously, to stay here."
Tucker may want to pump the brakes there.
Clint Hurdle said before the game Tucker's call-up is "anticipated as short-term" and he's mostly providing the team with versatility and flexibility for the upcoming series against the Cubs.
That said, Hurdle recognizes the value of seeing young, developing players such as Tucker get those big-league reps. I asked him about that facet of the season in his office before the game:
Now it's up to Tucker to prove he's growing, that he's piecing things together at the plate and learning how to hit at this level. To that end, he's confident.
"Just going up there and hunting zones and knowing what I do well and what I'm going to try to do in the box, and, as always, consistent, good shortstop play from both sides of the ball — offensively and defensively — and both sides of the plate, just going to try to be the most consistent player I can be," Tucker said.
