The questions about Gerrit Cole would have persisted anyway, but the uncertainty surrounding the production from the back end of the Pirates’ rotation will intensify them.

“I don’t think about going to Indy,” Cole said. “I don’t think about going to Pitt. I just think about right now. … You have to be so focused and so narrow-minded.”

In today’s Post-Gazette: Cole’s imminent debut and some other prospects who may contribute soon.

Cole’s 2.90 ERA and 2.61 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 12 starts at Class AA Altoona last season indicate he’s on the right track, and the Pirates’ top prospect has raw ability going past the numbers. The combination of the fastball velocity and the movement on his slider and changeup will ensure the results translate to Indianapolis, as long as he commands his pitches.

He has made only two starts at Indianapolis. The combination of extra seasoning at the highest level of the minors and the contractual and financial factors related to his service time will send him back there.

During that time, he said, he said, he will attempt to ignore the distraction of his looming debut.

“I haven’t honed it yet,” he said of blocking out distraction. “It’s just something that we keep trying to get better at. I’m aware of how crucial it is for myself to be able to perform, so I think that’s why I reiterate it a lot and really try to make an effort.”

-- Photo courtesy of AP

First Published: March 24, 2016, 5:17 p.m.