BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Pirates finished dead last in runs scored in the major leagues last season, but I can think of at least four good reasons why that won't happen again:

1. Outfielder Andrew McCutchen will be with the team from Opening Day.

2. Outfielder Garrett Jones also will be with the team from start to finish, presumably.

3. Catcher Ryan Doumit can't possibly play than less he did last season, uh, right?

4. McCutchen will be with the team from start to finish.

There's no way to underestimate the presence of McCutchen at the top of the order on a daily basis. In his major league debut, he totaled 124 hits and 22 stolen bases in 108 games last season. Projected to 150 games, the numbers are 172 hits and 31 stolen bases.

“I know that I can steal more bags,” McCutchen told me at McKechnie Field this morning. “It's a matter of being comfortable with myself and knowing who I can steal against and who I can't steal against.”

Thirty bags?

“I won't say the number.”

Thirty-five?

“I do not have a number in my mind. But (the goal) is more than last year.”

I have a number in mind. It's a nice, big, round four-oh. Minimum.

See, at 23, McCutchen isn't a rookie any more. He's a year older and wiser this spring. He's more confident. As he told me at the Pirates Caravan last month, he's in the best physical condition of his life.

Not only that, but except for a few situations, McCutchen plans to bunt more this season.

“That can help me out a lot,” he said. “If the third baseman plays back and I've got a free shot, I may as well take it. Or if he comes in, I can top one and still get it through the hole. It will be great to use.”

One more thing: McCutchen will have the green light this season.

“I'm goin' until they tell me to stop.”

If McCutchen is good for, say, 180-plus hits and 40-plus steals this season, imagine what the offense will be like then.