Back to the Pittsburgh Pirates Newsfeed

Paul Zeise: Gerrit Cole is the Pirates' most important player

Gerrit Cole said earlier this week that he is physically and mentally ready to have a bounce-back season. That’s good news because he’s the Pirates’ most important player, and they’re going nowhere unless he returns to form.

The Pirates might be able to overcome a bad season by Andrew McCutchen, Francisco Cervelli, Jung Ho Kang or Josh Harrison, but I can’t make that argument with Cole. If Cole doesn’t regain his form as an ace, the Pirates have zero chance of being a playoff team. They still might not earn a playoff spot even if Cole is great, but if he isn’t, this season will be a waste.