Bucs hope for big things from McCutchen
February 28, 2010
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP)—A few days ago, a sleepy morning in the PittsburghPirates’ clubhouse was brightened when Andrew McCutchen(notes) walked into the room.
McCutchen was laughing, as usual, and soon other players were, too. Everyoneseemed to perk up as McCutchen quickly changed into his workout gear and headedonto the field.
At just 23 years old and with only 123 days of major league experience,McCutchen already is emerging as the team leader.
“Andrew carries himself with a maturity well beyond his years,” generalmanager Neal Huntington said.
“He’s got confidence,” manager John Russell said. “He’s been in thelimelight for years without even being there (in the majors). He’s the type ofguy who relaxes and has fun. That helps him play the game the way he does.”
A first-round draft pick in 2005, McCutchen for years was the lone brightspot in the Pirates’ minor league system. He nearly made the team out of springtraining in 2007, but former general manager Dave Littlefield wisely chose togive him more time to develop.
The past two years, McCutchen was among the final, tough cuts in springtraining camp.
“He went back to Instructional League in 2008, when he thought he probablyshould’ve been called up, and handled it better than anyone could’ve imagined,”Huntington said. “And he handled it well when he was sent out again last year.What we thought (would happen) toward the end of the summer instead happened in(June) and he hit the ground running.”
McCutchen made his debut June 4, the day after center fielder Nate McLouth(notes)was traded to the Atlanta Braves, and singled in his first at-bat. McCutchenwound up batting .286 with nine triples, 12 home runs and 54 RBIs out of theleadoff spot.
Baseball America named McCutchen its major league rookie of the year. Hefinished fourth in voting among baseball writers for the Rookie of the Yearaward.
This year, McCutchen’s spot on the roster is assured. He smiled when askedwhat he can do for an encore.
“Try to have an even better year,” he said. “Shoot high, work hard andhope for the best. I prepared myself well this offseason, so I want to have aneven better year.”
McCutchen started 108 of the team’s final 109 games. Yet, unaccustomed tothe grind of a major league season, McCutchen wore down by September.
“He geared his offseason workouts to make sure he’s a little stronger inhis legs,” Russell said. “He still has some things we think he can improve on:his throwing; his first step in the outfield; constant adjustments in hitting.He wants to be more aggressive on the bases, maybe steal a few more this year.He’s got a very good outlook this year.”
NOTES: Relievers Octavio Dotel(notes) (oblique) and Joel Hanrahan(notes) (elbow) are ontrack to begin their throwing programs by mid-week. … Tuesday, the Pirateswill play a charity game against the State College of Florida. Bryan Morris andDonnie Veal(notes) are among seven Pirates pitchers slated to work one inning apiece.… Paul Maholm(notes) and Ross Ohlendorf(notes) each will pitch one inning Wednesday in theGrapefruit League opener against the New York Yankees. Virgil Vasquez(notes), D.J.Carrasco(notes), Chris Jakubauskas(notes) and Brian Bass(notes) also are slated to pitch.
Fantasy Baseball registration is now open. Join today!
Comments
Got something to say?
