{"id":85194,"date":"2024-09-08T19:20:49","date_gmt":"2024-09-08T23:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=85194"},"modified":"2024-09-08T19:20:49","modified_gmt":"2024-09-08T23:20:49","slug":"pirates-promote-versatile-prospect-billy-cook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/09\/08\/pirates-promote-versatile-prospect-billy-cook\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates Promote Versatile Prospect from Triple-A"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Pittsburgh Pirates have promoted versatile prospect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=cook--000bil&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-08_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Billy Cook<\/a> from Triple-A Indianapolis for Sunday\u2019s game vs. the Washington Nationals. Cook was <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/08\/01\/pirates-trade-cook-best-of-all\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">acquired<\/a> from the Baltimore Orioles in a late trade deadline day deal for minor league pitcher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=reilly004pat,reilly003pat&amp;search=Patrick+Reilly&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-08_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Patrick Reilly<\/a>. The road to the big time was paved for Cook when the Pirates placed catcher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davishe01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-08_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Henry Davis<\/a> on the injured list retroactive to September 5.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">OF Billy Cook has been promoted from the Triple-A <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indyindians?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@indyindians<\/a> to the <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Pirates?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Pirates<\/a><a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LetsGoBucs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#LetsGoBucs<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZeAjHQyaAX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/ZeAjHQyaAX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Pittsburgh Pirates Player Development Report (@PGHplayerDev) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PGHplayerDev\/status\/1832801485148619162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 8, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Pirates Promote Versatile Prospect Cook from Triple-A<\/h2>\n<p>Entering Sunday at a disappointing 66-76, Pirates fans have clamored for their favorite team to \u201cplay the kids.\u201d \u00a0They\u2019ve been especially anxious to see Cook and another <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/07\/29\/quinn-priester-red-sox-pirates-trade\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">deadline acquisition<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=yorke-000nic&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-08_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nick Yorke<\/a>. This is the move they\u2019ve been waiting for, although it\u2019s likely to take a temporary back seat to a Steelers Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>Cook, 25, is ranked as the Pirates\u2019 No. 24 prospect. The Bucs traded a higher-ranking prospect to get a prospect who filled a positional need while being closer to the majors. Primarily an outfielder, Cook can also play all over the infield. When the Pirates acquired him, he had completed a hot July for Triple-A Norfolk, hitting .389\/.436\/.778. A regression to the mean had to be expected, and indeed, for Indianapolis, he\u2019s hit .276\/.389\/.486, 5 HR, and 21 RBI, while stealing nine bases in 10 attempts. Cook has played all three outfield positions and first base for Indy.<\/p>\n<p>Manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/managers\/sheltde99.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Derek Shelton<\/a>, who changes lineups frequently and values on-base percentage (although you couldn\u2019t tell, judging from how the Pirates hitters have performed), should find plenty of opportunities for the versatile Cook. Shelton didn\u2019t post Sunday\u2019s starting lineup until about 30 minutes before game time, perhaps waiting for Cook\u2019s arrival. With left-hander <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/corbipa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-08_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Patrick Corbin<\/a> starting for the Nats, the right-handed hitting Cook was in the order, hitting seventh.<\/p>\n<h3>What Can Billy Cook Up?<\/h3>\n<p>(Hey, not all these headings can be gems!) What to expect from Cook now that he\u2019s in the majors will be interesting. He\u2019s projected as a utility player but let\u2019s not be so sure. He\u2019s been defying his relatively low prospect ranking all year long. With an intriguing combination of speed and power, he may be looking at a long major-league career. Some guys just overachieve.<\/p>\n<p>If Cook catches on as the right-handed half of the Pirates&#8217; first-base platoon, the versatile <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/j\/joeco01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-08_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Connor Joe<\/a> would have to fight for playing time in the outfield. Joe has hit a disappointing .231\/.321\/.376, 9 HR, and 35 RBI at the close of Saturday\u2019s action. It frankly wouldn\u2019t hurt the Pirates if Cook edges Joe out of a job.<\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word<\/h3>\n<p>Meanwhile, 2024 is a year Davis would just as soon forget. Davis was recalled on August 25 when No. 1 catcher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bartjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-08_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joey Bart<\/a> went on the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/08\/25\/pirates-bart-injured-list-davis-recalled\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">injured list<\/a>. When Bart was <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/09\/06\/pirates-reinstate-bart-dfa-mckinney\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">reactivated<\/a> on Friday, Davis got a reprieve when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mckinbi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-08_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Billy McKinney<\/a> was designated for assignment. It left the Pirates in the unusual position of carrying three catchers, an indication that Davis might get some run. This left-hand inflammation injury is just the latest on a laundry list of unfortunate setbacks for Davis. The former No. 1 draft pick was hitting just .144\/.242\/.212 with one lone homer and five RBI. His chance to make an impression in 2024 might now be gone. He\u2019ll enter spring training competing with Bart and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/rodrien01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-09-08_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Endy Rodriguez<\/a> for a roster spot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Postscript: <\/strong>At press time, Cook garnered his first major league hit in his first at-bat, a two-run double down the left-field line.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: \u00a9 Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Pittsburgh Pirates have promoted versatile prospect Billy Cook from Triple-A Indianapolis for Sunday\u2019s game vs. the Washington Nationals. Cook was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in a late trade deadline day deal for minor league pitcher Patrick Reilly. The road to the big time was paved for Cook when the Pirates placed catcher Henry [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5010,"featured_media":85205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1071,35],"tags":[28733,3160,4875,5766,28666,1643],"class_list":["post-85194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pirates","category-mlb","category-news","tag-billy-cook","tag-derek-shelton","tag-henry-davis","tag-joey-bart","tag-nick-yorke","tag-patrick-corbin"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5010"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}