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Minor Moves: Cole Tucker and Billy Roth Join West Virginia

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The West Virginia Power added right-handed pitcher Billy Roth to their roster on Saturday night and shortstop Cole Tucker is now with the team, though he hasn’t been added to the active roster yet.

Tim Williams wrote earlier this week that Tucker has been playing nine inning games with no restrictions five days a week in Extended Spring Training. Tucker mentioned that he hoped his rehab assignment would be over by Monday and it looks like he could possibly join the Power roster in time for Sunday’s game. His original return time from his shoulder surgery had him out until at least mid-June, so he is back about six weeks earlier than the best case scenario laid out last August.

Roth pitched in relief on Saturday night and it appears that will be his new role for now after working as a starter in his first three seasons. He has high upside due to a fastball that can sit mid-90’s, but he has yet to really show that potential during game action. Roth was young for his high school class when he was drafted and he’s still a month shy of his 21st birthday. You can read about his debut in our Prospect Watch.

Update 10:35 AM: The move to add Tucker has been made official and Logan Ratledge has been assigned to Extended Spring Training to open up a roster space. No additional move was needed to add Roth because the Power have been playing a man short since Tate Scioneaux was promoted to Bradenton earlier this week.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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