Screw the financials - Garrit Cole should start season in Pittsburgh

I've spent some time reading opinions on whether prized Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Garrit Cole should make the Pirates opening day roster. Just about every opinion I read suggested Cole should start the season with AAA Indianapolis. The opinions all featured two common points of view:

1: Cole needs a few more games in the minor leagues to fine-tune his game and finish developing his off-speed pitches. More importantly, Cole has very little experience pitching at the AAA level.

2: Strictly financials - By keeping Cole in the minors until at least June, the Pirates can secure an extra year of control of Cole and he would not become a free agent until after the 2019 season.

My opinion on both arguments is bullshit and bullshit. Realistically, what is pitching in AAA for a few months going to accomplish for Cole that he can't fine-tune in the big leagues? Even with his "unpolished" skills, his raw talent makes him a better starting pitching candidate than several of the guys competing for spots in the rotation. When you look at guys like James McDonald, Jeff Locke, Kyle McPherson, and Franciso Liriano - they all have one thing in common. They are all huge quesetion marks. McDonald self destructed after a strong first half last year. Liriano has been self destructing for several years and Locke and McPherson are untested at the big league level. I'd rather have Garrit Cole pitching ahead of all of those guys.

So far this spring, Cole has displayed that he has the necessary tools to compete against professional hitters. Against Spain a few weeks ago, Cole struck out the first 6 batters he faced. Today against the Orioles, Cole efficiently earned a win while only throwing 23 pitches (17 strikes) through 4 innings. Although he allowed a 2-run home run, he only surrendered 2 hits and 1 walk and managed to face only 14 batters through 4 innings. Not too shabby.

On the second argument - Financials. I completely understand the argument. However, if Cole becomes the pitcher we all hope he will be, won't the Pirates try to secure him to a long-term deal a few years before he becomes a free agent? The Pirates were faced with the same dilemma when Andrew McCutchen was knocking on the door of a big league promotion. The Pirates opted to wait until June to bring McCutchen up, but it didn't really matter in the end as the Pirates locked McCutchen up with a long-term deal long before he reached the end of his contract.

Second, the Pirates weren't on the cusp of contention when they considered bringing McCutchen up. There was really no reason to waste a year of arbitration eligibility by rushing McCutchen up to the bigs. However, the organization is in a different position this time around. The Pirates have flirted with contention 2 seasons in a row and a full year of Garrit Cole could be the difference this season. With so many question marks on the back end of the rotation, Cole has the potential to be a significant upgrade and could add depth and stability to a rotation that seemingly doesn't have any. Although he is a question mark as well, it's a calculated risk I'm willing to take.

I believe Cole is ready to compete at the Major League level right now and the Pirates are foolish to potentially sacrifice wins in April and May for the sole reason of securing an extra year of Cole control. The team has the potential to win and contend now and they should capitalize on the opportunity.