Cole Tucker can relate to Paul Skenes' life as a Pirates No. 1 pick in ways beyond baseball

For a moment, former Pittsburgh Pirates first-round draft choice Cole Tucker may have gotten lost in a memory.

Sitting on the visitor’s bench at PNC Park on Monday afternoon, now as a Los Angeles Angel, Tucker looked out at what used to be his home field and talked about what fellow Pirates first-rounder Paul Skenes should be aware of whenever he gets promoted to the Major Leagues.

“He just needs to come up here and help the team win,” Tucker said. “Us young guys sometimes get up here and want to make such a big name or make such a big splash. … It’s just doing little stuff every day. He doesn’t need to come out here and throw a no-hitter his first game.”

Or, you know, hit what would prove to be a game-winning home run during his Major League debut?

All the feels.@cotuck's first big league hit is no joke. #LetsGoBucspic.twitter.com/wOv3YxVHIi

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 20, 2019

“Or that. That was pretty cool too,” Tucker laughed, realizing the irony of his oversight.

Indeed, Tucker made as big of a Day 1 “splash” as any Pirates first-rounder when he homered in his first game to help beat the San Francisco Giants, 3-1, on April 20, 2019. However, his greater point about how Skenes should approach his first few months in the Majors is nonetheless prescient.

“Know who you are. Know what makes you tick. Know what’s going to help you succeed and go out and try to do that,” Tucker said. “This game is all about performance. It’s all about results. It’s all about winning. And the more you do little things to help the team do that every day, the longer you’re going to stick around.”

Tucker also cautioned Skenes to be aware that failures will occur. How the big right-hander handles those days will go a long way toward how he plots his early course in MLB.

“It’s just not freaking out. Not getting up there and panicking. Remaining calm, remaining confident,” Tucker said. “Those were the biggest things that I wish I could go back and tell my 22-year-old self to do and be. But you just don’t know. You don’t have the knowledge, or the wisdom, or the experience yet to do that. And as you grow and get older, you learn it more.”

By his own admission, Tucker is still mastering those things. After being designated for assignment by the Pirates in May 2022, the 27-year-old has had stops with the Diamondbacks, Rockies, Mariners and Angels organizations.

“Some guys come up and have an instant impact, just stick and stay. Look at (Bryan) Reynolds,” Tucker said of the Pirates outfielder. “Reynolds and I came up on the same day. He was ready for the opportunity. I wasn’t, and that’s why our careers have kind of shaped out how they have. But if Paul comes up here and just takes care of the little things and remains the same, remains calm, remains confident, he’s going to have a ton of success.”

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Tucker also understands that Skenes isn’t just any first-rounder making the jump to the big leagues. He is doing it as last year’s first-overall pick. And he is doing it with an organization whose entire business model is platformed on the premise of selling hope surrounding high-profile prospects.

“There’s a lot of pressure with that,” Tucker admitted. “Pittsburgh is such a great sports city. Everyone cares. Everyone gives a (crap). It means a lot to a lot of people. It’s easy to come up here and get kind of lost in that. (Skenes) is going to get called up and be like, ‘All right. Hell, yeah. I did it. I’m the prince of the city. I’m the mayor of this town, and everyone’s counting on me.’ I feel like that’s an unhealthy way to take it on. If he keeps the big leagues in the same regard as he does in Triple-A or anywhere else he’s played, he’s going to be a lot better.”

Tucker is also uniquely qualified to appreciate where Skenes’ life is off the field — in terms of being with a partner who might be even more famous than he is.

Skenes is dating LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne, one of the most recognizable figures in the social media sphere. She has 5.1 million Instagram followers. Her first-round draft choice boyfriend has 254,000.

Tucker is married to actress Vanessa Hudgens of “High School Musical” fame. Her Instagram follower count is 51.3 million.

“Just keep your private life, your private life,” Tucker suggested. “Don’t let everybody in and see every little detail. Because when it’s good, it’s great. But when it’s bad, everyone’s going to be micro-dissecting everything you do.”

Tucker says that Dunne’s athletic background should allow the couple to navigate the waters better than other young couples who are being thrust into the spotlight under similar circumstances.

“She’s a gymnast. I’m sure she understands the dynamic a little bit,” Tucker said. “But my wife and I try to be super private. Not because we hate people or the public or anything. It’s just less hoops you’ve got to jump through. It’s just less noise when baseball is so crazy and life is so crazy.”

When Skenes comes to Pittsburgh, it will be crazy, for sure. Regardless of how long Tucker stayed here, his words of wisdom for Skenes are worthy of being followed.

On all fronts.