Clint Hurdle toyed with the idea of hitting Pirates star outfielder Andrew McCutchen 3rd in the batting order through much of Spring Training and into the early stages of this 2011 campaign, but after getting off to a relatively slow start Hurdle has moved McCutchen back to his familiar leadoff spot where he has already come back alive.
McCutchen is easily one of the better table-setters in the game today. His combination of speed and his ability to work deep into counts makes him any manager’s dream leadoff hitter but while hitting 3rd in the lineup, McCutchen has been unable at times to really showcase his great speed and base-stealing abilities.
Additionally, there is a completely different mindset between hitting 1st in the lineup and then hitting 3rd. Hitting 1st in the lineup, a manager wants a player with great speed who is going to work counts, have a high OBP, and hit for a relatively high average. Conversely, a manager expects a lot of power and run production from his 3rd hitter. These are all things McCutchen is more than capable of doing but leadoff suits him so much better.
He may be the Pirates best overall hitter and more than worthy of hitting 3rd but he’s a guy who shouldn’t be thinking about hitting the ball out of the ballpark. McCutchen should be hitting line drives to all fields and using his legs to beat out ground balls. Up until Saturday McCutchen had only stolen one base. Then in a game against the Washington Nationals he swiped two bags within three innings. This just goes to prove he’s that prototypical leadoff hitter the Pirates need.
With the lineup that GM Neal Huntington has put together over the last few seasons, McCutchen is more than capable of scoring 100 runs and stealing 50 bases each season. It will just depend on what role he is playing in the lineup that day.
written by Shane McFarland
No comments:
Post a Comment