He hit .286 with 12 home runs, 54 RBIs and 22 stolen bases in 108 games while playing solid defense and flashing the potential that led many to think he will eventually be a Gold Glover. He also faced the pressure of replacing the Pirates' most popular player, Nate McLouth, who was traded to Atlanta on June 3 after winning a Gold Glove and making the National League All-Star team in 2008.
"I was very happy with the way the season went," McCutchen said. "I look back on it and feel good about it."
However, McCutchen believes he only scratched the surface of his abilities. He has spent the offseason getting stronger, particularly working on his lower body, and he is ready to put any thoughts of a sophomore slump to rest.
"I know I can improve in every area of my game," the 23-year-old said. "I want to be better in every phase."
When pressed to pick one area in which he feels he needs the most improvement, McCutchen said plate discipline, even though he had a fine .365 on-base percentage last season.
"I have be more patient, not so much in working counts but in staying back longer on balls," McCutchen said. "I got anxious too many times, jumped out at pitches and rolled over on them for weak groundballs. I need to stay back better and drive those pitches into the gaps."
NOTES, QUOTES
--LHP Donnie Veal is expected to begin the season in the rotation at Class AAA Indianapolis. Veal pitched just 16 1/3 innings of relief for the Pirates despite spending all of last season on the major league roster as a Rule 5 draft pick.
--C Ryan Doumit is looking to build on a strong finish to a tough 2009 season. The switch hitter batted .329 in 24 games in September. He sat out nearly three months last season due to a broken wrist, and he finished with a .250 batting average, 10 home runs and 38 RBIs in 75 games. If Doumit gets off to a fast start this year, he might be used as trade bait, as the Pirates could use backup Jason Jaramillo as their regular catcher until Tony Sanchez, their first-round draft pick last year, is ready to come to the major leagues.
--SS Ronny Cedeno seems like a potential breakout candidate after a winter-ball season in which he hit 10 home runs in 150 at-bats in his native Venezuela. He batted. 258 with five home runs and 21 RBIs in 46 games for the Pirates last season after they acquired him in a trade from Seattle. The Pirates signed veteran INF Bobby Crosby as a free agent this winter for insurance in the event Cedeno falters.
--1B Steve Pearce once seemed a big part of the future when he was the Pirates' minor league player of the year in 2007. However, his chances of making the club appear slim this spring, as the Pirates will give 1B Jeff Clement, acquired from Seattle last summer, every chance to be a starter. Furthermore, RF Garrett Jones seems next in line at first base, moving there if Clement fails to seize his opportunity. Pearce has spent parts of the last three seasons with the Pirates but has hit just .237 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs in 120 games.
--The Pirates drew a total of 15,398 for their annual three-day PirateFest, setting a record for the 20-year-old event.
BY THE NUMBERS: 70-92 -- The Pirates' projected record for 2010 by Baseball Prospectus.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I'm a Pirates fan for 51 years. You can't fire an owner. You've got to sell 'em first. But we can always dream." -- Hall of Fame hockey broadcaster Mike Emrick, during NBC's telecast of the Pittsburgh Penguins-Detroit Red Wings game on Jan. 31, about reports that Penguins owner Mario Lemieux had offered to buy the Pirates from Bob Nutting.