What Does McCutchen's Future Hold In Pittsburgh?

Pittsburgh Pirates star center fielder Andrew McCutchen is in the midst of one of the worst seasons in his major league career. This has left many fans questioning the future of McCutchen here in Pittsburgh. Should general manager Neil Huntington pull the trigger and trade him, or keep him around for the long haul.

I havent announced it on here before, but I am the radio play-by-play announcer for the frontier league's Washington Wild Things baseball team. Our game got rained out tonight and as I was driving home 93.7 the fan brought up the question of what does the future hold for Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen?

After hearing the arguments of many fans calling into the station, it got me thinking "what do the Pirates do with McCutchen?" He was the National League MVP in 2013 and was a five time all-star for the Pirates over his eight year career and has been the face of the franchise since his 2009 call-up. However, he is in the midst of his worst season of his MLB career in which he is hitting .246 with 15 home runs and only 42 RBI and we are in the latter half of the month of July.

McCutchen is signed with the Pirates through the 2018 season and is owed 14,500,000 next season and is due to be a free agent before the 2018 season. McCutchen has been a star for the Pirates, but you could get a very healthy return for the former NL MVP's services. However, before we say lets ship him away there are a couple of factors we must consider.

First of all, we have to look at the minor league talent in the Pirates system that could come up and replace McCutchen if he would be traded. You have two future stars in Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte in the corner outfield spots, but you need someone who will be able to step-up and compliment these two in the Pirates outfield.

Taking a look at the Pirates farm system the three candidates available in Triple A right now are Willy Garcia, Danny Ortiz, and Austin Meadows. The name that stands out most out of these three options is Austin Meadows. Meadows was the 2013 first round draft pick by the Pirates and was tearing it up in double A earlier this year hitting .311 with six home runs and 23 RBI. However, his start to his triple A career is lack luster as through 12 games he is hitting .239 with two home runs and six RBI.

Also, Meadows just made the transition to the Triple A level and is at least a year away from appearing in a Pirates uniform. He still needs time to develop and grow in the higher levels of the Pirates minor league system before he can make his presence felt on the Pirates. I would say he has to appear in at least 250 triple A games before we see him in a Pirates uniform.

The other two options, Ortiz and Garcia, are subpar major league talent at best. Garcia is hitting .258 with four home runs and 33 RBI while Ortiz is only hitting .222 with 12 home runs and 39 RBI. Neither of these players would have the capabilities to come up and perform as an everyday outfielder for the Pirates.

In Double A the only option with any pull is Harold Ramirez, however, being that he is in double A he is still at least two or three years away from joining the team. And, with an organization void of many outfield prospects, there are no reliable replacements for Cutch. The next factor you have to look at is what can they get in return for their star center fielder.

Prior to this season, you could get a huge return for McCutchen as he was the NL MVP and a five-time all-star. You could have gotten at least two major league ready players and a haul of minor league talent. However, with McCutchen's average at a career low, his value has dropped immensely and may deter the Pirates from any thoughts of trading their star centerfielder. 

If you wait until 2017 and see if McCutchen rebounds and returns to form, you can get a much bigger haul for the star. The worst case scenario would be that McCutchen continues his downward spiral in 2017 and he walks in free agency. If your the Pirates, you would rather get something in return for your asset rather than having him walk. It is not likely that Cutch will resign with the Pirates and you would rather see the Pirates get something for McCutchen rather then letting him walk.

In conclusion, if I were the Pittsburgh Pirates, I would keep McCutchen through 2017 and trade him at the deadline next season to see what I can get in return. Yes, McCutchen has been the face of this franchise for the past eight seasons, but as the famous saying goes all good things must come to an end. For McCutchen, I'm afraid his time in Pittsburgh is almost up and we will usher in a new generation of talent at PNC Park.

Chad Kuhl Facing Tough Competition to Start Career

In his first four starts Pirates starting pitcher Chad Kuhl has had to face some tough competition at the major league level. However, he has shown the ability to hold his own at the major league level against some of the toughest teams in the National League.

It was a quick rise to the majors for Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Chad Kuhl as he spent one year at each level of the Pirates minor league system. The 2013 9th round draft pick rose through the minor league system with an ERA consistently in the mid 2's and striking out 100 batters twice in his four years through the system.

Kuhl's hard work finally paid off as on June 26th 2016, Kuhl got the call to the majors to make his MLB debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Then Kuhl found out he would be facing one of the top pitchers in the National League in Clayton Kershaw. Then, to add to the pressure, he was pitching on ESPN Sunday night baseball.

Talk about a high pressure situation, but as they say big players step up in very big games and that is just what Kuhl did. He ended up going six innings giving up three runs on four hits while walking four and striking out five. He got into trouble in the first inning as he loaded the bases with two outs but was able to get out of it and settle in.

He would end up picking up the win in that game as the Pirates scored him four runs and Kuhl picked up his first major league win. Manager Clint Hurdle was quoted after the game as saying "That was a great team win." Kuhl had no time to relax however as his opponents would only get tougher as his starts continued.

In his next two starts he had to face off against Oakland Athletics ace Rich Hill and he faced Jon Lester in what has seemed to be an all-star Chicago Cubs rotation. He did very well against the Athletics giving up only two runs in seven innings of work, but he hit his first bump in the road against the Cubs going 1.2 innings giving up four runs.

Then we come to last night's start, once again Kuhl was faced in a tough situation having to go up against Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer. Once again he was up to the challenge throwing 86 pitches in six shut out innings of work while striking out five and not walking a batter in the outing. Unfortunately, Kuhl did not pick up the win as the Pirates would need 18 innings to defeat the Nationals by a score of 2-1.

Kuhl was a pitcher not on many people's radar before the season started because of stars like Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow making their MLB debut, however, he has come on to the scene and performed well in his first four major league starts. He has made himself a main stay in the Pirates rotation and looks to help them make a playoff run.

Kuhl has collected 13 strikeouts in his first 19.1 innings of major league work compared to five walks. Kuhl has very good control on the mound not walking a man in two of his four MLB starts. Kuhl has been able to keep his cool in some high pressure situations and it will pay off later in his career.

With the trade deadline approaching, the Pirates have been scouting some top starting pitching including Chris Archer from the Tampa Bay Rays, Nathan Eovaldi from the New York Yankees, and Rich Hill from the Oakland Athletics. If Kuhl can continue his early success he will be a key part to the Pittsburgh Pirates 2016 playoff run.

Should Pirates Buy, Sell, or Stay at Trade Deadline

With the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline quickly approaching, the Pittsburgh Pirates currently sit in third place in the National League Central with a record of 42-41. The question on everyone's mind right now is whether the Pirates go all in to win or try to sell and rebuild for the future.

One week ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates were struggling mightily having lost three of four series and looking like they were far out of the race. However, since then they have won three out of four against the Los Angeles Dodgers, split a two game series with the Seattle Mariners, and swept the Oakland Athletics to go above .500 and play themselves back into the playoff race. While they still have a lot of work to do to get where they need to be it is not an impossible task.

If you would have asked me two weeks ago whether the Pirates should buy or sell at the deadline, I would have most certainly said sell low and build a team to win next season. However, with the recent success of the ball club, I am starting to change my mind and think the Pirates should start preparing for a playoff run. Now I don't think they should go after premier names for only half a year, but for the two-three year deal that can help them continue the success they have had over the last couple of seasons.

The biggest need for this Pittsburgh Pirates team right now is a starting pitcher. The Pirates have been plagued with injuries as Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon are both on the disabled list, and as a result they have had to plunge into their pitching prospect depth as we have seen the debut of Chad Kuhl and Steven Brault will make his big league debut tomorrow.

So far, the results from these rookies have been really good as Kuhl has a 1-0 record and a 4.09 ERA in two starts and Taillon in his first five starts had a record of 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA. While we will wait and see how Brault does tomorrow, these rookies cannot propel the Pirates into a deep post-season run as there is just not enough experience to help the team. And, with Francisco Liriano in a down year and the extreme inconsistencies of Jeff Locke the Pirates rotation is in desperate need of an upgrade and I think Neil Huntington should pull the trigger and see what he could get.

One name that sticks out to me and I think would benefit the Pirates is Tampa Bay Rays starter Jake Odorizzi. The Rays currently sit in last place in the American League East Division and are far out of the race. Odorizzi has been consistent in the middle of the Tampa Bay Rays rotation and could bring a consistent presence in the middle of the Pirates rotation.

Odorizzi currently has a record of 3-3 with a 3.91 ERA while striking out 90 and walking 31 in 94.1 innings of work. Odorizzi has been very consistent this year not giving up more than five earned runs in a start this season. He has also pitched at least five innings of work in 15 of his 17 starts on the season. His salary is team friendly for the Pirates as well as he is only making $520,700 a year for the Rays.

Odorizzi's strikeout numbers are what jump out most to me with 90 strikeouts in 94.1 innings pitched. If the Pirates can get Odorizzi to come to Pittsburgh, Ray Searage could work his magic and turn Odorizzi into a premier starter for the Pirates. Odorizzi would be under team control for the next three seasons and could step into a rotation of young starters who are ready to bloom and succeed in the future.

If Odorizzi can come to the Pirates the rotation down the stretch would be Cole, Liriano, Odorizzi, Niese, and Taillon. This would be a rotation that excites me and, with the offense that this Pirates team has, could lead the Pirates into a deep playoff run. While many fans are still skeptical about this team, I still have hope that this team could be a success this season.

Only time will tell whether or not the Pirates will buy or sell at the deadline, and this month of July will be a big factor in determining the status. This next week they play a three game series with the Cardinals, they won game one today, and a three game series with the Chicago Cubs before going on the all-star break. If this team can win four out of those six games they will be putting themselves in good position going into the pivotal trade deadline.