Pittsburgh Pirates: Top Five Center Fielders in Franchise History

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PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 14: Andrew McCutchen #22 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates a three run home run by Josh Bell #55 (not pictured) during the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park on July 14, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh won the game 5-2. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /

Number One – Andrew McCutchen

You probably saw this coming, but it was actually really close to Andrew McCutchen Carey. McCutchen got his career off to a great start in 2009 when he hit .286/.365/.471 with 12 long balls and 22 stolen bases. He finished off the year with a 121 OPS+, 122 wRC+, and led all 2009 position player rookies in fWAR at 3.4. As we all know, McCutchen was robbed of the National League Rookie of the Year Award by Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan.

After two more solid, but not superstar level seasons, McCutchen would go on a four season tear from 2012 to 2015 where he became one of MLB’s best batters and one of the best in Pirates’ history. In these four seasons, McCutchen combined to hit .313/.404/.523 with 100 home runs, 76 stolen bags, and a 157 wRC+. McCutchen ranked 4th in wRC+ and 3rd in fWAR from 2012-2015. He also won the National League MVP in 2013, and finished in the top 5 or better of MVP voting in each of the other seasons.

After a so-so 2016 season, McCutchen ended his Pirates tenure on a high note, batting for a .279/.363/.486 line, 28 home runs, and a 123 OPS+ and 122 wRC+, and a bottom line that consists of a .291/.379/.487 line, 203 home runs, 292 doubles, a 144 wRC+, 154 stolen bases, and a 41 fWAR.

The one thing that could have kept Cutch from being the number one center fielder on this list was his defense. McCutchen had -64 DRS, -29.9 range runs above average and -4.7 UZR/150. He only ever once graded out as an above average defender in center field, that being his 2013 MVP season. However, McCutchen only played 13 games and 115 innings in another outfield position that was not center field. Carey played a good amount of left field before becoming the Pirates primary center fielder.

Next. Embracing the Suck with Bernie Holliday. dark

Regardless of his defense, Andrew McCutchen is one of the best Pittsburgh Pirates players in history. He was the face of the franchise during an exciting time when the Pirates made it back to October baseball, and some moments he had, like the walk off home run against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015, or the countless moments from his MVP 2013 season.

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