Andrew McCutchen

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**Andrew McCutchen**
Major League Baseball debut
Pittsburgh Pirates — No. 10
Center field
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
N/A, N/A for the N/A
Teams
Bradenton Pirates (2005-2005) Williamsport Crosscutters (2005-2005) Hickory Crawdads (2006-2006) Altoona Curve (2006- Present)

Andrew McCutchen (born October 10, 1986 in Fort Meade, Florida) is a Minor League Baseball center fielder and currently a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates Double A affiliate the Altoona Curve.

1 High School
2 2005 MLB Draft
3 2005 Season
4 2006 Season
5 Accomplishments
6 Career Statistics (through 2006)
7 References
8 External links

[edit] High School

Andrew Stefan McCutchen was born on October 10, 1986 in Fort Meade, Florida. He garnered major league attention during his high school career and especially during his senior season at Fort Meade High School. During his senior season, McCutchen hit .709 with 16 homeruns and 16 stolen bases in 55 at-bats.

[edit] 2005 MLB Draft

Coming into the 2005 MLB First-Year Player Draft, McCutchen was highly touted by Baseball America. In Baseball America's annual high school player rankings McCutchen ranked 3rd for Best Five Tool Talent, 2nd for Best Pure Hitter, 2nd for Fastest Player and 5th for Best Defensive Player. Andrew was also ranked as the 2nd closest to the majors among High School players, beaten only by the Arizona Diamondbacks Justin Upton.

McCutchen was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1st round with the 11th pick. Andrew signed quickly and received a $1.9 million dollar signing bonus. Justin Upton was the #1 selection in the draft.

[edit] 2005 Season

After the draft, Andrew began his career on the Pirates' rookie level team in Bradenton, FL. While at Bradenton he hit .297 with 13 stolen bases, 29 walks and only 24 strikeouts in 158 at-bats. He was rated as the #1 prospect in the Gulf Coast League by Baseball America at the end of the 2005 season.

After 45 games in Bradenton, he was promoted to the Williamsport Crosscutters of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. While playing in 13 games for the Cutters in the short season New York Penn League, McCutchen hit .346 with 4 steals in 13 games. He finished the 2005 season with a .310 batting average.

[edit] 2006 Season

The start of 2006, saw Andrew attend his first major league spring training with the Pirates in Bradenton, FL. After spring training, McCutchen was sent to the Pirates Low Single-A affliate, the Hickory Crawdads. He hit .291 with 14 home runs and 22 stolen bases in 114 games with Hickory, and was selected for the league's All-Star game along with fellow Pirates' prospects Brent Lillibridge and Brad Corley.

On August 15, 2006, Andrew was promoted to the Double A Altoona Curve of the Eastern League in Altoona, PA. He was even more dominate in Double A than in Low Single A, which is surprising considering he skipped the Pirates' Hi-A Lynchburg Hillcats squad. McCutchen was the youngest player to ever play for the Curve at the age of 19. Upon arriving in Altoona, he hit a homerun in his first home game for the Curve.

On September 30, he was named the Pirates Minor League Player of the Year along with Tom Gorzelanny, who won Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Andrew was also unanimously selected by scouts and managers as the #1 Prospect in the South Atlantic League.

[edit] Accomplishments

2005 - 1st Team High School All-American OF The Baseball Cube
2005 - Gulf Coast League #1 Prospect
2006 - Pittsburgh Pirates #2 Prospect Baseball America
2006 - South Atlantic League All-Star
2006 - Youngest Altoona Curve Player in History (19)
2006 - South Atlantic League #1 Prospect
2006 - Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Player of the Year Pirateball.com

[edit] Career Statistics (through 2006)

Year	Age	Team	League	Level	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG
2005	18	Fort Meade HS	HS	HS	-	55	-	39	8	3	16	-	16	-	-	-	.709	-	1.836
2005	18	Bradenton	GCL	Rookie	45	158	36	47	9	3	2	30	13	1	29	24	.297	.411	.430
2005	18	Williamsport	NYPL	SS-A	13	52	12	18	3	1	0	5	4	1	8	6	.346	.443	.442
2006	19	Hickory	SAL	Lo-A	114	453	77	132	20	4	14	62	22	7	42	91	.291	.356	.446
2006	19	Altoona	EL	AA	20	78	12	24	4	0	3	12	1	1	8	20	.308	.379	.474
-	-	TOTALS	-	-	192	741	137	221	36	8	19	109	40	10	87	141	.298	.377	.445

Preceded by: Neil Walker	Pittsburgh Pirates First Round Draft Pick July, 2005	Succeeded by: Brad Lincoln
Preceded by: '	GCL Prospect of the Year October, 2005	Succeeded by: Clayton Kershaw
Preceded by: Scott Elbert	SAL Prospect of the Year October, 2006	Succeeded by: '
Preceded by: Jose Bautista	Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Player of the Year September, 2006	Succeeded by: '