MLB Draft: Pirates Cole Tucker SS of Future Videos

Cole Tucker was the Pirates first pick in the 2014 draft.

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Cole Tucker with their first pick in the 2014 MLB Draft.  The Bucs have invested a great deal of effort in their scouting departments recently and while some people are scratching their heads after the first day of the Pirates draft, we have a different opinion.

Evaluating baseball talent is a job that would be fascinating to me.  But while the scouts get a lot of the glamor in the game of baseball, they also have a difficult job.  The travel is brutal.  The hours are long and the time away from the family piles up quickly.

So just how did these scouts see Cole Tucker so differently than most everyone else around the game?

We think that scouts are vital, but even more so are the men that develop the talent that is drafted into the system.  The instructors.  The coaching staff.  The trainers.

There are only so many uber talented baseball players.  And then there is that second level of player that is really talented, but is also coachable.  These players are the Gregory Polanco’s of the world.  The Tyler Glasnow’s of the Pirates system.  Of course, players like Polanco and Glasnow were not as highly regarded a few years ago, but someone something….and then that something was developed.

Cole Tucker has shown the Pirates that special something.

Now it’s up to the development staff to make it happen.

Video #1 is really cool….mmmmmmmm Gramma’s sausage!!!!!!

Video #2 from PerfectGameBaseball shows his quick stroke.

Video #3 highlights from Big League Futures showcase his very structured hitting abilities including the front toe extension so many hitting instructors are teaching now.