A recent article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette poses the question of an extension to the Pirates young centerfielder Andrew McCutchen after the Arizona Diamondbacks signed Justin Upton to a long term contract.
Should the Pirates offer McCutchen a similar contract in years,if not money?
Our answer is no.
Don't take that the wrong way,I like Andrew McCutchen.
He was a nice guy when he played with Hickory here,he has plenty of talent and lack of effort has never been a question for him either,but he is not Justin Upton and he likely will never be.
Justin Upton does everything that McCutchen does and will hit for more power.
McCutchen will generally steal more bases than Upton,but Upton will steal his share of sacks as well.
McCutchen is the far superior defender,but Upton is relatively new to the outfield.
Upton also has two solid seasons under his belt,while McCutchen has just a few months in the bigs.
Upton's contract also buys out his first two seasons of free agency and eliminates the hassles of arbitration,while McCutchen still may not hit arbitration for 2 years at best.
Take a look at some of these names-Todd Hollandsworth, Ben Grieve,former Pirate Eric Hinske and current Pirate Bobby Crosby as just a few examples of young players that watched their stats plummet and their careers to that of bench players.
I am not saying that Andrew McCutchen is going to be Ben Grieve,but one just doesn't know at this stage of his career and the risk at this point is not worth the reward.
Things change and a excellent 2010 changes things,but for now,lets see a complete season from the Pirates most talented and exciting player before we jump the gun prematurely....
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