McCutchen overcomes spring struggles

In Andrew McCutchen's first taste of Double-A Eastern League pitching down the stretch of the season in 2006, the 19-year-old feasted on opposing hurlers to the tune of a .308 average in 20 games.

Which made it all the more surprising that in his return to Altoona to start 2007, the Pittsburgh Pirates center field prospect got his first taste of something else: struggles at the plate.

McCutchen, drafted by the Pirates with the 11th overall pick in 2005 out of high school in Fort Meade, Fla., brought a .298 career average with him to Altoona but stumbled out of the box and did not get his batting average above .200 until nearly Memorial Day.

But thanks to patience, both at the plate and off the field, it seems like old times now for McCutchen and company.

McCutchen spent most of 2006 at Class A Hickory in the South Atlantic League, where he hit .291 with 14 homers and 62 RBIs in 114 games in his first full season. Skipping a level to join the Curve, who were competing for a playoff spot, was the last thing on his mind when he was called into his manager's office on Aug. 14 and informed he would be moving up to the Eastern League.

"I didn't have my mind set on going any higher than [Advanced A] Lynchburg," McCutchen said. "And considering the fact that they were in pretty much the same boat as Hickory was [out of playoff contention], I thought I'd spend the whole year in Hickory, so it was a big surprise for me."

The move was also a surprise to Altoona manager Tim Leiper, who was the lucky recipient of reinforcements in the persons of not only McCutchen but fellow first-round pick Neil Walker, a catcher (now third baseman) who came up at the same time from Lynchburg.

"We were really hurting," said Leiper, whose team worked its way into the postseason in that final month. "We really, really needed some offense and there weren't any other logical choices to come help us out. He showed them that the move was a good one. It was obviously the right move at the right time."

Though many seasoned hitters will tell you that the jump from Advanced A to Double-A may be the toughest one to make on the normal climb up the Minor League ladder, it didn't look at the time as if McCutchen was having any trouble at all figuring out that jump.

"It wasn't that bad. The pitching was more around the plate, more accurate, more consistent," he said. "You study pitchers and the pitchers study you, at-bat after at-bat -- so the next time they face you, they have a game plan, so you have to have a game plan as well."

When McCutchen returned to Altoona to start 2007, though, it was a different situation altogether. Perhaps the biggest challenge the youngster from Florida had to deal with was April in the Eastern League.

"I had to adjust to the weather at the beginning of the season," he said. "I'd never played anywhere under 55 degrees and to come here and play in snow flurries and wind chill, you have to adjust to that."

After going hitless in his first four games, an 0-for-15 span, it took awhile for McCutchen's bat to come around and his numbers to start reflecting his talent.

"My biggest concerns with him were that he'd feel he had to try to 'play catch up,' to try to get three hits in one at-bat, but he's remarkable in that he never let it get to him like some guys would out of frustration," said Leiper, who was back at the Altoona helm for a second year as well. "It could have been a lot worse. Maturity-wise, for a kid his age to have gone through what he has and handled it like he has is remarkable."

In fact, McCutchen's poise, maturity and quiet confidence are among his greatest assets, and helped him through those tough first two months.

"The biggest thing for me was just staying positive and letting my talent take over," said McCutchen, who hit .189 in April, .230 in May, .266 in June and .300 in July to raise his average to .249 to go with six homers, 42 RBIs and 13 steals. "I know my bat will come around, I know the type of hitter I am. I won't let it get to me because I know that sooner or later it will turn around, and it's started to now."

At just 20, there is no need to continue to rush McCutchen but rather let him take whatever time he needs to adjust to each level. The ensuing success when he does seems almost inevitable for someone with his talent and tools.

A rare five-tool talent, McCutchen dazzles with his defense and speed in center field, his gap power, his strong arm and his strike-zone discipline.

"The way he runs down balls out there in center field is amazing," Leiper said. "He changes the game out there. His bat is really quick. Every time he's at the plate you feel good he can change the game. He's a complete player."

And Leiper thinks that the struggles McCutchen endured at the plate over first two months of the season will make him an even better player in the long run.

"Now he knows, or at least I know, that when he's at his worst is when he shows his best. His character is that he can handle anything, he's unfazed by anything," he said. "When he was struggling you'd walk into that clubhouse and you wouldn't know if he was 0-for-4 or 4-for-4, and that's a testament to his character."

With the Curve sitting a handful of games out of the two playoff spots in the Eastern League's Northern Division right now, Leiper is hoping that his team will rally down the final month and fight their way into what would be their fifth straight postseason slot. And he's pretty happy that he can write Andrew McCutchen's name into his lineup every night as he tries to accomplish that goal.

"No matter how he's playing," he said, "when he's on the field you always feel like he's going to win the game for you."