When the Pittsburgh Pirates made pitcher Gerritt Cole the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, the team almost certainly hoped to see him pitching as a game one in the World Series. Fast forward to now, and that’s exactly what Cole is doing. Unfortunately, Cole is doing that for the Houston Astros, the team Pittsburgh shipped him to after giving up on continuing to develop him. As Cole gets ready to pitch the biggest game of his life, it’s just another reminder of the ineptitude within the Pirates organization.
The Pirates failed to develop Cole, and instead of recognizing the problem was the coaching and organizational atmosphere, they instead gave up and shipped him down the road.