Sometimes the game comes easily. Cole Tucker experienced some of that during his rookie season last year, like when he hit a game-winning home run in his big league debut.
Often times, it is more difficult. Tucker experienced a lot of that last year, too. The 23-year-old former first-rounder finished the year with a .211/.266/.361 slash line and two home runs in his first year in the majors, and was optioned to the minors multiple times.
While he hit better in Triple-A Indianapolis and during his late season promotion, and his glove and base running abilities are more than major-league worthy, he still needs to prove he can consistently hit major-league pitching.
"Hitting is about being on time and hitting the ball hard and swinging at good pitches," Tucker said Saturday during PiratesFest. "So there [in Indianapolis] I was doing that. I didn't do as well of a job here. But I definitely feel like I hit the ball pretty hard here in the big leagues last year and I didn't find consistent results like I was in Indianapolis. I want to transfer that over and do that here, obviously."
Taking lumps as a rookie is hardly anything new. Just about every new big leaguer goes through those growing pains.
"Well (****)," Tucker joked when he was told that, "Reynolds didn't," he said, referencing Pirates standout rookie outfielder Bryan Reynolds.
Fair enough.
"The game can teach you stuff and you can bounce back from it," he said after the laughter died down. "That's the approach that I'm taking, and that's what I believe in. I have a lot of optimism and confidence going into this year."
Part of the reason for that optimism is the work he has done with his swing this winter. While Tucker's 87 mph average exit velocity was not far off the major-league average in 2019, he whiffed too often and hit too many ground balls. He is addressing those faults with a new swing path that emphasizes launch more.
When going through his mechanics, he is thinking about taking his swing up the L-screen or the batter's eye. If he executes, he believes he will let his body leverage play, giving him more power.
Among the people helping him with the new swing this offseason is National League MVP Cody Bellinger, who has the same stroke Tucker is trying to emulate.
"Being a right-handed thrower, left-handed hitter most of the time, I can get pretty rotational, just because of how my body is made up," Tucker said. "I've really been working on this and trying to learn this, understand this, just because my whole career I've just competed and competed and competed, and really had no idea what I was doing physically.
"The thought of being good with my path and my direction's going to keep me in the zone better. It's going to keep me in the zone longer, and it's gonna allow me to instead of crushing a line-drive, top-spin into right field, I might hit a ball really high, really far to right-center."
Tucker is also making similar adjustments for when he bats right-handed, but it will benefit him more when he is batting lefty.
To get in that lineup, Tucker may be asked to move around on defense. Kevin Newman entrenched himself as part of the Pirates' middle infield last year after a stellar rookie campaign, and second baseman Adam Frazier was one of the best defensive players at his position and a more than capable hitter in 2019.
"I need to do whatever Ben [Cherington], Shelty [Derek Shelton] and this new staff tells me that I need to do, and I'm open to that," Tucker said. "As of now, I think of myself as a shortstop, and I want to be on this team and I want to improve."
Even if he starts the season second on the depth-chart at the beginning of the year, that does not mean it will stay that way. As Tucker pointed out, last year Newman opened the season the back-up to Erik Gonzalez. If he gets a similar opportunity, he will be prepared.
"I just want to show up and be really good on defense, have quality at-bats and be healthy so that when it is my time go, I'm ready, in whatever opportunity that is."
