It doesn't always work out this way, especially in baseball. A homegrown talent, developed by the organization, isn't always around when a historically bad team finally turns the corner. Too often the franchise's brightest star is dealt to a big-market contender in exchange for a handful of prospects. That's simply how baseball operates.

Andrew McCutchen was the 11th overall pick in the 2005 amateur draft. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected him out of Fort Meade High School (Fla.). A five-tool player, McCutchen worked his way through the minor leagues before making his debut on June 4, 2009. Facing the New York Mets, he went 2-for-4 with a walk, RBI and stolen base. He has been with the Pirates ever since.

Despite playing in just 108 games, McCutchen finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. He was bested by Chris Coghlan, J.A. Happ and Tommy Hansen. While the trio watched this week's All-Star Game from home, McCutchen made his third-straight appearance.

Every summer Major League Baseball takes a break to honor the game's best, the temperature rises and mention is made of the last time Pittsburgh had a winning baseball team.

The Pirates lost in the NLCS three years in a row (1990-92) and haven't played a playoff game since. They haven't even finished with a winning record since then. How long ago was that? Barry Bonds was on the team and Jim Leyland was the manager.

McCutchen was six years old.

"I really didn't pay too much attention to what we had and what we didn't have. I kind of just played, because for me I didn't read anything that happened," McCutchen said of his time in Pittsburgh's minor league system. "It wasn't until I got to the big leagues when I saw that winning really mattered. That was the first taste that I got that we had lost for this many years."

While the Pirates were extending a historic run of losing seasons, McCutchen was focused solely on making himself a better player. In five minor league seasons, he hit .286/.362/.423. His slash line across four-plus Major League seasons is better -- .292/.374/.482.

"I was focused on myself at the time. In the minors, we all have a goal and that goal is to play in the big leagues. In the minors you do anything you can do to try and get there. I was developing and learning a lot through the organization and the system," McCutchen reflected.

The Pirates went 95-176 (.351) from McCutchen's debut through the end of the 2010 season. With McCutchen in center, Pittsburgh was in the process of seasoning fellow youngsters Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez and Jose Tabata. No longer confined to the obligatory All-Star slot every club is guaranteed, the Pirates had five players in New York City for this year's events. McCutchen was joined by Alvarez and pitchers Jason Grilli, Jeff Locke and Mark Melancon.

The club hadn't had five All-Stars since the 1972 season.

"It says a lot about our team, it says a lot about what we are doing this year. People around us are starting to recognize," McCutchen said. "It's not just the Pirates, we recognize each other, but it's the fans, the league, other teams and coaches. They are all paying attention to what we are doing -- that's the only way we'd have five representatives."

As bad as the Pirates have been for two decades, McCutchen believes their recent success was bound to surface sooner or later. They have used 13 first-round draft picks since 2002. Ten of those selections have been ninth or higher. Twice they've picked first overall and seven of those picks were in the top-four. They haven't selected later than 19th since 1993.

"I feel like it's just one of those things when you don't do so well for so long, you have to eventually get better. You're making high draft picks, you're getting key guys and it's the law of physics. It has to eventually turn around; things have to eventually start going your way," McCutchen said.

"It took a little longer than people would have wanted, but things are turning around. Even since I've been drafted, every year we've gotten better. Now we have depth in the minors, we have prospects, we have guys in the big leagues so that if someone goes down there is someone to take their spot. It's starting to show and it's nice to see."

He didn't draft McCutchen, but Neal Huntington has redirected the ship in his six years as general manager. Huntington drafted Alvarez (2008) and Gerrit Cole (2011), who are key members of Clint Hurdle's roster.

In historic terms, baseball in Pittsburgh is special. They've won five World Series and despite 20 years of futility, they still have a winning record as a franchise -- roughly 300 games over .500 since they first took the field as the Pirates in 1891.

"They're hungry man," McCutchen said. "Pittsburgh is a sports town. They are all about their sports. They've always been supportive and that just shows the loyalty they have to their teams -- to us, the Pens and the Steelers. They are hungry to see a winner and it's great that they are seeing one right now."

As McCutchen has matured, so have the Pirates. After winning 57 games in 2010, the Pirates won 72 and 79 in the next two seasons. They are sure to break the .500 mark in 2013, despite late season collapses in both 2011 and 2012. They enter the second half of the season 56-37, in second place and on pace to flirt with 100 wins. The Pirates haven't reached triple digits in wins since 1909, the same season in which they won their first World Series.

The Cardinals have a one-game lead in the NL Central, but the Pirates have a stranglehold on a Wild Card spot. It would take absolute Armageddon for the Pirates to finish under .500 and a near-epic collapse for them to miss the playoffs. Years of losing has built up to this moment, something those that were part of the process saw coming.

"After my first year I started to notice that things were already getting better," McCutchen said. "It was something that I could see, even if other people couldn't at the time. That's what led me to sign the contract here and want to be here because I could see the difference in the team."

The contract McCutchen is talking about was signed last spring. The agreement, a six-year deal worth $51.5 million with a team option for 2018 at $14.75 million, will likely eat up the first three years of his free agency. McCutchen is making plenty of money, but he'll be 31 when he is first able to enjoy free agency. A summer of courtship, private jets and a $100 million deal could have been his after the 2015 season.

McCutchen could have bolted for greener pastures at first chance, but it's more unique that Huntington never pulled the trigger on a trade involving the athletic center fielder.

Drafted more than eight years ago, McCutchen was a pick of the old regime. He's played on a team that lost 105 games, made three All-Star appearances before his 27th birthday and now he's reaping the rewards.

When playoff baseball returns to Pittsburgh, McCutchen will fittingly be at the center of it.