McCutchen Makes a Statement

Andrew McCutchen made a statement last night with his 4-5, 3Hr,6 RBI & 4 runs game last night in an 11-6 victory over the Nats. The statement pretty much says that even at the young age of 22, that after the latest round of trades, this is now his team. In just 51 games at the MLB level, Cutch is batting .293 with 6 HR and 31 RBI's out of the leadoff spot, and could be well on his way to a Rookie of the Year Award.

The reason I say it's his team now is simple.......He's a stud. Over the last decade, the Bucs have had several good players and a couple very good players (Bay, Ramerez,etc.), but they haven't had a stud. That's part of the reason we don't win. Cutch is capable of doing anything on the baseball diamond. He is blessed with enormous speed which makes him a great center fielder. Most of the times, opponents will have to hit it out of the park to get it over his head. He has an above average arm as well, but that is one part of his game that needs some work.

The thing I like the most about the young stud is his approach at the plate. He is a gap to gap guy, but as he showed last night, he can hit the ball out of the ballpark. I love the approach though. He is poised and seems like he can handle any situation. The one thing I don't want to see is Cutch start trying to hit the ball over the fence. Keep the approach the same. He is also a fantastic base runner. his speed showed last night when he scored on a double to left from first base. The only thing I would like to see more out of Andrew is for him to run more. He is currently 9 for 9 stealing bases, but I would like to see him be more aggressive.

McCutchen is the difference between the past Pirates and the present/future Pirates. He is the player, the rebuild is centered around, and he is the player to start leading to Pirates to success in the future. So, why wait ? Make this Cutch's team right now. Am I jumping the gun after just 51 games? I don't believe so. You can tell when a guy is a legit major leaguer and this guy flat out is.

Face it, we haven't had many blue chip athletes around here the last 16 years. It's time for the young McCutchen to take control of this team and show what he is and what he will become. That is simply the best Bucco since a guy named Bonds.