Why do they pitch to McCutchen?

Last night, I flipped on MLB Network just in time for the Pirates highlights. After watching Andrew McCutchen's majestic home run with two outs on an 0-2 pitch from Marco Estrada, analyst Joe Magrane joined a familiar chorus: why do they pitch to that guy? We've heard it again and again from National TV analysts to local sports writers to McCutchen's own manager, Clint Hurdle. Frankly, it's baffling.

McCutchen leads the majors in hitting, is third in OBP and second in OPS. Here's the kicker: he leads the majors in Slugging Percentage. That's right, he's out-slugging Josh Hamilton, Ryan Braun and David Ortiz. He's out-slugging Mark Trumbo, Joey Votto, Jose Bautista...well, I could go on indefinitely. Yet, pitchers have not wised up. He's been intentionally walked only 7 times this year. By contrast, Joey Votto's been intentionally walked 13 times, same with Ortiz. In fact, if there's one area for criticism in McCutchen's game this year, it's that his walk rate is rather low at 8.5%. He's taken only 30 walks all season. Most of his good OBP comes from his hits. That's what makes this trend of pitching to McCutchen all the more puzzling.

And it's not just that pitchers are trying to pitch around him and make a mistake. They seem to be choosing to challenge him. Take this quote from the aforementioned Marco Estrada, for example:

"There was one pitch I regret, and that was the pitch to McCutchen," Estrada said. "I went away from our game plan and decided to throw a fastball away. And I shook it off, which I shouldn't have done, and I got hurt for it. I can't be doing stuff like that. I've got to stick to the game plan and try to make the pitches." 

 When asked after the game why he thought they kept pitching to McCutchen, here's what Clint Hurdle had to say:

“Some of it, I just think they think they can get him out,” Hurdle said. “The guy that day thinks he can get him out. That’s about all I got. They think they can get him out.”

 McCutchen stands all of 5'10" and weighs 185lbs. He's a little guy compared to most big league players. He was primarily a leadoff man his first two years in the majors, known more for his speed than his power. I bet if you polled 25 pitchers at random, not one of them would be able to correctly identify who leads the majors in Slugging Percentage. Heck, poll a hundred. Despite his incredible year, nobody seems to be conscious of the damage he can do with one swing of the bat. There was a fair amount of snickering about McCutchen's presence in this year's Home Run Derby, but there shouldn't have been. It's understandable why it might come as a surprise to folks, but Andrew McCutchen is tied for second in the National League in home runs with 20.

McCutchen is a pretty soft-spoken guy on a small-market club, so it's no wonder it's taken time for him to get the attention he deserves from the national media. His fellow hitters in the division have begun to notice him, too. Reds All-Star Jay Bruce says he's "on the very short list right now of the best players in baseball." Ryan Braun called him the first-half MVP. Sooner or later you've got to figure the pitchers in the league will start to notice (and respect) what McCutchen is doing and pitch to him differently. Until then, Pirates fans, enjoy the show!