Cook's debut provides Pirates with a glimpse of what future could entail

It didn't take long for Billy Cook to make an immediate impact on a major-league field Sunday afternoon. Hours after arriving at PNC Park following a road trip from Toledo, Ohio, the newly-promoted Cook made his MLB debut over at first base and quickly put himself in the middle of the action, delivering with a spectacular catch near the netting in foul territory to retire Washington's Andres Chaparro: 

"It was fun. It's nice to have good netting here. You don't have that in all the minor-league parks," Cook said with a smile that wouldn't leave his face when speaking to reporters following the Pirates' 7-3 win over the Nationals at PNC Park. "So yeah, ball goes up and as an outfielder you just go catch it. That's what I did, but with a first base glove. The wall and net happened to be there. Good to get the first one out of the way. Pop flies, I'm a little more accustomed to those, so the first one, that was kinda nice." 

Cook's debut didn't just feature one significant defensive play. He added on to his memorable afternoon by collecting two hits in Sunday's series finale, including this two-run double on a slider down in the zone from Patrick Corbin in his first big-league at-bat: 

"It meant everything. This is what I worked really hard for, dreamed about as a little kid, talked to my family and friends about," said Cook, who also singled to lead off the eighth inning. "It still feels surreal to be here, but I'm glad it happened. We'll keep going. You get one debut, that's what they all say. It was definitely one to remember." 

Many have been pounding the table for Cook to get a chance at the big-league level after being acquired in a trade deadline deal that sent pitching prospect Patrick Reilly to the Orioles. In 30 games with Class AAA Indianapolis, Cook slashed .276/.389/.486 with seven doubles, five homers and 21 RBIs. He went 2 for 5 with a grand slam in Indy’s win over Toledo on Saturday. In 115 minor-league games between Class AA Bowie, Class AAA Norfolk and Indy, Cook compiled a .275/.375/.474 slash line with an .849 OPS. He hit 17 home runs, drove in 74 runs and scored 71 times. 

While the Pirates gave Cook the opportunity to make his major-league dream come true, he also gave the Pirates something in return with his memorable showing: A slight glimpse into what the 25-year-old could provide now and in the future. 

"Yeah, I think it's really exciting and I think it does a couple things. He makes a play, gets a hit, we saw in the eighth the line drive through the middle. Not only does it, for us, give an impression, but for him it's just like, 'OK, now I can take a break,'" Derek Shelton said. "Having been traded during the season, this is probably the first time he met 95% of these guys, except for maybe a couple guys playing across the field. Overall, really good first impression." 

Looking ahead, Cook could figure into the Pirates' future plans if his offensive ability ends up translating well from the minor leagues to the majors. His defensive versatility -- he's played over 400 minor-league innings at each of the three outfield spots as well as first base and second base -- is a plus, too, as it gives the team options as to which spot in the field is the best fit for him. 

"I think we're gonna have to try and figure that out. This decision happened pretty late last night, in terms of calling him up, so I think we'll sit through it and go," Shelton said. "The fact that Billy's versatile gives up options. He can play all three. He's played first, he's played some second, so it gives us some options of when we can give guys some days off and how we're going, so I think we'll look through that the rest of the homestand and the rest of the year."

It's certainly a wise decision for the Pirates to see what he can do at this level before the season comes to an end. It gives him a brief taste of what this level of competition presents and will allow him to go into the offseason knowing what he'll need to work on to potentially become a contributor for years to come. Ask a guy like Nick Gonzales how valuable that is. 

"It was huge for me to experience it and get a taste," Gonzales said back in May regarding the big-league experience he benefitted from last year. "See what I need to do, see what I need to work on."

Getting a sample of what the major leagues has to offer is something Ben Cherington acknowledged as being important when speaking on his weekly radio show earlier in the day, too. 

"We're excited that he'll get an opportunity here to get a little exposure to the major leagues," Cherington said. "We've talked about this in the past, we really think it's valuable for players to come up, get some exposure to major-league pitching and have that information going into an offseason, maybe before the year that they would have a better chance to be in the mix for more of a regular job." 

That's now a chance Cook could possibly be getting an early audition for. But it's not like he's coming into this late-season opportunity without being at least a little bit battle tested. The former 10th-round selection by the Orioles in 2021 has played in 376 minor-league games since being drafted and has put in the work to help ensure that Sunday's debut would inevitably become a reality. Sure, playing in the major leagues is a much more daunting challenge, but Cook believes all 376 of the minor-league games he played in helped him prepare himself for what he's now going to experience at the big-league level.

"I think it started last year in Double-A when we would face guys at the beginning of the year who would debut. I would just tell guys, ‘Listen, we’re facing big leaguers down in Double-A. They’re just not big leaguers yet.’ So the stuff is pretty good," Cook said. "If you take that mindset, not like, ‘Oh, it’s going to be a ginormous jump.’ It’s definitely a jump but not getting in your own head about it, I think that helped. Definitely in Triple-A, you see good arms, you see guys up and down, so just seeing that good competition and being around guys who have handled it, they give you good advice. You’ve just got to go through it. There’s no substitute. I’m excited to keep going and see what major-league pitching is all about and defense and that next level up. You just have to experience it, I think, and as you do you just make that adjustment.”