Would Another Team Call Up Gerrit Cole?

There's been a big spotlight on Pirates prospect Gerrit Cole this year, and rightfully so. Cole was the number one pick in the draft last year and was looked at as a future Cy Young contender. He made his professional debut this year and was promoted to AA in late June after posting a 2.69 ERA with 9.3 K/9 in 13 starts with A Bradenton. He's kept on impressing people at AA by continuing to rack up the strikeouts (nearly 10 per nine) and limiting runs. There's little doubt that Cole could dominate AAA lineups at this point, and a lot of people want to see him in the big leagues as soon as possible.

The Pirates would probably never consider calling up Cole this year. They want to take it extremely slow with their big time prospects (which we saw already this year in the case of Starling Marte), and I'd say it's even more so that way with pitchers. Cole is pretty mature for a first year player, but even at this level the front office won't consider it.

But should they? Would other teams? I don't have answers to these questions. All I know is that the Baltimore Orioles just called up Manny Machado from AA despite hit .266 batting average there. Also the Texas Rangers called up one of their top prospects from AA in Mike Olt. Granted, those are both infielders and it's a different story with pitchers, but you get what I'm going for here.

The Rays used their top pitching prospect David Price in the bullpen during their playoff run in 2008 before he was deemed "ready" for the major leagues. Again, I don't think the Pirates would consider it, but it's interesting to think about. They have a deep rotation still with six guys on the major league roster that could start, but with how James McDonald has been pitching recently, we're just an injury away from getting a bit desperate.

This isn't going to happen, but it's fun to think about. Cole should be up next year barring any injury or other setback, and then we'll have him for good. You can't blame the Pirates for taking it slow, but sometimes you have to take a risk to get a reward.