On May 5th Andrew McCutchen went 0-for-4 in a 7-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. The next day Cutch lined an eighth inning single to center field off Reds starter Mike Leake to break an 0-for-13 string. He was quickly erased when Starling Marte grounded into a 6-4-3 double play as the Reds shutout the Bucs 3-0, dropping their record to 12-15. But looking back, that line drive was the demarcating point in Andrew McCutchen's, and the Pirates', season. Cutch finished the day with a triple slash line of .188/.279/.292 and an OPS of .571 in 111 plate appearances.
In 427 PAs since then McCutchen has been as good as anyone in the game. He's posted a line of .335/.438/.585, 1.023 OPS 18 homers and 72 RBI. The Pirates have gone 66-34.
McCutchen rate stats are now almost exactly in line with his numbers over the past three seasons, a model of consistency:
AVG OBP SLG OPS OPS+
2012 .327 .400 .553 .953 162
2013 .317 .404 .508 .911 157
2014 .314 .410 .542 .952 166
2015 .304 .405 .522 .928 154
And if he keeps up his torrid August and carries that thru September, Cutch has a chance to put up some of the best counting numbers of his career. Cutch by month:
AVG OBP SLG OPS
Apr .194 .302 .333 .636
May .330 .419 .566 .985
Jun .337 .422 .511 .933
Jul .287 .382 .532 .914
Aug .345 .477 .631 1.108
The last three seasons McCutchen has had 673, 674 and 678 plate appearances. With 35 games to go he's got 538 and should fall right in line with the three previous years. The last three years he's finished in the top three in the MVP voting. A solid month should put him right there for a fourth. And a big one just might get him his second trophy.
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