Pittsburgh Pirates History: Recapping the Rookie Season of Andrew McCutchen

The Pittsburgh Pirates made one of the best roster moves in Franchise history in 2009. They called up a young outfield prospect who ended up becoming a star.

In June 2009, the Pittsburgh Pirates made a move that would finally change the course of the Franchise. The team promoted their first-round selection from 2005, outfielder Andrew McCutchen. A move that was long anticipated, but no one could have predicted the immediate impact that young outfielder would make.

Andrew McCutchen's rookie season with the Pittsburgh Pirates was in 2009. He played in 108 games and had a batting average of .286 with 12 home runs and 54 RBIs. He also stole 22 bases and had an on-base percentage of .365. These numbers would be a sign of what was going to come from the future perennial All-Star.

McCutchen's performance earned him a spot on the National League All-Star team and he finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting. He also won the National League Rookie of the Month award for July 2009. This would be the only award that he would take home from Major League Baseball during his rookie campaign.

Andrew McCutchen finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting for the 2009 season. The award was won by Chris Coghlan of the Florida Marlins. Coghlan had a strong debut season also with a batting average of .321, nine home runs, and 47 RBIs in 128 games.

The runner-up in the voting was J.A. Happ of the Philadelphia Phillies, who had a record of 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA in 35 appearances (23 starts) as a pitcher. Tommy Hanson of the Atlanta Braves finished third in the voting, with an 11-4 record and a 2.89 ERA in 21 starts. All had really impressive seasons, but none would put together the career that Cutch would put together.