Billy Cook
Position: 1B/OF
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 200 pounds
Level: Triple-A Indianapolis
Notable: Last year, Billy Cook made his MLB debut with the Pirates, benefiting from a September call-up before going on to appear in 16 big-league games. While his slash line of .224/.224/.449 over 49 at-bats was hardly eyebrow-raising, Cook did hit three homers with eight RBIs, although he drew zero walks and struck out 19 times (%).
Cook began the 2025 campaign at Triple-A Indianapolis and, through 55 games, was slashing .265/.349/.335 with 11 doubles, no homers and 17 RBIs.
It took some time for the 26-year-old, acquired in a trade with the Orioles last summer, to find his swing, as he batted only .182 in April before improving to .243 for May.
But in June, Cook has been on fire, hitting .533 over his first eight games of the month with a .611 on-base percentage, four doubles and three RBIs.
While his red-hot bat may well cool off at some point, Cook’s defensive versatility could contribute to another call-up to Pittsburgh.
This season with the Indians, Cook is playing all three outfield positions regularly, in addition to first base.
Granted, Spencer Horwitz is likely to continue to receive the lion’s share of starts at first with the Pirates, while currently in the outfield, Adam Frazier has seen heavy action alongside Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds due to his own hot-hitting.
Furthermore, Alexander Canario and Tommy Pham remain with the Pirates and would get first dibs at an open outfield spot before a phone call was placed to Cook at Triple-A.
All that said, his willingness to play where needed coupled with the impressive offensive tear of late are both positives for Cook as he looks to plot a new course back to the majors.