Someone forgot to send the memo to Andrew McCutchen.
The Pittsburgh Pirates made McCutchen the number 11 overall pick in the
2005 Draft. Upon his signing, the then 18-year-old was assigned to
rookie ball. It took the Pirates management no time at all to realize
that they had found a keeper.
McCutchen appeared in 45
games in the Gulf Coast League in 2005, putting up a vital line of
.297/.411/.430. These numbers, paired with McCutchen’s impressive 29:24
walk to strikeout ratio, sent 5-foot-11, 175 pounder straight to Low-A
Williamsport. McCutchen finished out the 2005 campaign by hitting .346
and posting a .443 on-base percentage in 52 at-bats in Williamsport.
The 13-game stint to finish 2005 was enough to earn McCutchen another
promotion, allowing him to begin the 2006 season with Single-A Hickory.
In his 453 at-bats, McCuthen hit .291 with 14 HR and 62 RBI while
putting up solid OBP and SLG numbers of .356 and .446 respectively.
Throw all these numbers into the equation and the answer was simple to discover: time for another promotion.
McCutchen wrapped up 2006 with a 20 game spell at Double-A Altoona at
the ripe old age of 19. And all he did was pound out seven extra base
hits (.474 SLG), hit eight points over .300, and boast a very solid
.379 on-base rate.
It hasn’t taken Andrew McCutchen, who is now 20, long to realize his potential at all. The centerfielder is an exciting athlete that does a great job of finding his way onto the base paths (career OBP: .377). McCutchen also keeps developing as a power threat as his slugging percentage has increased as he advances to each higher level. He will continue to develop at a rapid pace and Pirates fans should get ready to hear Andrew McCutchen’s name being announced as the team’s starting centerfielder as early as this coming September.
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