How Andrew McCutchen’s Leadership Is Already Paying Dividends For Milwaukee Brewers

When the Milwaukee Brewers decided to sign a one-year, $8.5 million deal with former Pittsburgh Pirates superstar, Andrew McCutchen, the franchise clearly focused on their pitching to be the driving force with timely hitting from their veterans in pressure situations. 

When the MLBbro and former NL MVP agreed to join the team, he was confident he was the man for the job and more. Andrew’s desire to play instead of platooning or being a situational player was the main reason he’s in a Milwaukee uniform according to his interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette when the Brew Crew swept the Pirates earlier this week. 

“The Brewers offered me something that I felt I couldn’t refuse,” said McCutchen who still fancies himself an everyday player despite some recent drops in production.  “It was a good fit for me. You see what these guys have done in this division the past four years, so hopefully we can keep that going.” 

That’s putting it mildly to say the least. The Brewers are suddenly one of the hotter teams in baseball with a four-game winning streak that stretches out to seven wins out of their last nine games. Milwaukee currently is in a tight battle with St. Louis for first place in the NL Central. 

Did the Brewers bring the 35-year-old MLBbro in to hit .300 with 30 plus home runs while playing Gold Glove defense? No. But he can definitely improve an offense that ranked 27th in batting average and 23rd in slugging percentage.

This is not to say that McCutchen doesn’t have the ability to reach those numbers. He still sent 27 balls into the seats while driving in 80 runs in 144 games last season. His home run tally was the highest since he was in Pittsburgh in 2017. 

But this incident covered by MLBbro.com writer Kevin Moore in the first week of the season shows that Milwaukee is already getting a return on their investment. When he was beaned by Chicago Cubs pitcher Keegan Thompson, not only did it show that our MLBbro has no problem putting his body on the line but seeing his teammates clearing the dugout represents the championship chemistry needed for a deep playoff run. 

In 12 games, Andrew McCutchen is slashing .250/.306/.318 with a .624 OPS which is considered pedestrian to some but look for this MLBbro to make some serious waves late in the season and the postseason. 

Why?

Because the Brewers have to believe it. The team changed their tight budget to acquire “Cutch”, because in the words of owner Mark Attanasio…