Andrew McCutchen: When Will Pittsburgh Pirates Star Break out of Slump?

On Tuesday evening, it was the same story of late as the Pittsburgh Pirates were blown out by the Cincinnati Reds by a score of 7-1.  The loss marked the team's sixth defeat in its last seven games.  

Reds starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen earned his first major league victory by tossing six innings of three-hit baseball.  His sole blemish was a 1-0 pitch to Starling Marte in the second inning that landed in the right field seats.  

After the rookie's departure from the game, the Pirates failed to get another hit, as Cincinnati relievers held them hitless over the final three innings.  

There has been little improvement in the slumping Pirates bats over the last week of play.  Pittsburgh has scored a combined five runs over its last four games, losing all of them.  In their last six losses, the Pirates just seven total runs.  

At the heart of Pittsburgh's massive offensive slump is star center fielder Andrew McCutchen, who is in the midst of the worst start of his career.  McCutchen, who won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 2013 and has finished third in the race in both 2012 and 2014, went 0-for-4 again on Tuesday.  

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The typically explosive bat of McCutchen has simply been absent from the Pirates lineup this season, as Tuesday's performance saw his average dip to .185 in 25 games played in 2015.  

David Manel of Bucs Dugout on SB Nation reported that after the game, McCutchen had some strong words about his performance this season.

"I'm sick and tired of going 0-for-freaking-4.  It ain't fun taking right turns when you're used to taking left ones."

McCutchen has gone hitless in 12 of his first 25 games this season.  At that rate, he is on pace to have between 77-78 hitless games over the course of a 162-game season.  

Through 25 games played last season, McCutchen had just six games in which he did not collect a hit. There were just 38 games in 2014 in which McCutchen played and failed to collect a hit.  

So, when will McCutchen start to break out of this massive slump that he is in?  In four games this May, he is just 3-for-20.  The better question at this point remains whether he will break out of the slump enough to bring his statistics on the season up to his normal yearly numbers.  

A solid starting point would probably be for manager Clint Hurdle to consider dropping McCutchen in the order.  Batting third in 23 of his 24 starts this season, he simply isn't getting the job done batting in the No. 3 hole for the Pirates this season.  

Furthermore, Cutch certainly hasn't been clutch this season.  When he is at the plate and his team is trailing by one run, McCutchen is batting .145 with 13 strikeouts in 62 at-bats.  He is also batting just .200 with runners on third and less than two outs.  

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At the same time, who would Hurdle slide into the 3-hole in his lineup?  The majority of the Pirates lineup is off to a slow start.  

The hottest hitter in the lineup is right fielder Gregory Polanco, but he looks comfortable in the leadoff spot, batting .276 in 24 games.  

Marte could be a solid fit in the No. 3 spot in the batting order, at least until McCutchen finds his swing. He has displayed power and a decent batting average, hitting .264 with seven home runs in 25 games.  

If I were Hurdle, this is how my lineup card would look for the majority of games until McCutchen shows improvement:

1. Gregory Polanco
2. Josh Harrison
3. Starling Marte
4. Pedro Alvarez
5. Neil Walker 
6. Andrew McCutchen
7. Francisco Cervelli
8. Jordy Mercer
9. Pitcher

As McCutchen and company continue to slump, the Pirates continue to fall further behind the first-place St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central Division. 

While the lack in offensive production is by no means all McCutchen's fault, he is the catalyst for this offense, and when he is not performing up to par, it has a lasting effect on the entire lineup.

I don't expect McCutchen to play this poorly throughout the entire season, as his track record of success would indicate that he is bound for a hot streak.  When (or if) that will happen is still to be determined.

For now, the Jolly Roger remains down in Pittsburgh.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference.com.