BRADENTON, Fla. -- If there are men on base, Will Craig is hungry.

Craig finished last season with 102 RBIs for Double-A Altoona, tied for the fifth-highest total in the Minors, and he’s pushed five runs across the plate during his first few weeks of big league Spring Training. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle described Craig -- Pittsburgh’s No. 15 prospect according to MLB Pipeline -- as a hitter who “hunts” when he has a chance to drive in runs.

The first baseman, who was a first-round pick (No. 22 overall) in the 2016 MLB Draft, explains his desire to drive in runs in a different way.

“I don’t really know. I get guys on base, and I just get really hungry,” Craig said. “I just want it. It’s a weird concept. It’s not like I don’t want it when there’s no one on base. Something just kicks in in the back of my head, like, ‘You’re getting this done.’ It’s almost like a do-or-die situation, like, ‘You better get this done or something’s going to happen.’”

Craig made a lot of things happen for Altoona last year, and the Pirates are looking for more as he moves up to Triple-A Indianapolis. Before last season, the Bucs’ player development staff encouraged Craig to hit for more power and drive in runs, after he posted a .371 slugging percentage in 2017 and totaled only eight homers in his first 186 professional games.

Craig took that directive to heart, and the numbers reflected as much. He hit a career-high 30 doubles and 20 homers to go along with his 102 RBIs, the second-highest output in Altoona Curve history and the most by a Pirates Minor Leaguer since Steve Pearce drove in 113 in 2007.

“To drive in 102 runs, I hope nobody takes it for granted,” Hurdle said. “If they do take it for granted, they’re losing sight of how hard it is to do, and they’re not really giving somebody credit for doing something incredibly hard.”

Craig’s average dropped to .248 and his on-base percentage fell to .321 as his strikeout total increased to 128, but he showed the ability to hit for both average and power as he slashed .304/.378/.570 in the Arizona Fall League.

“Just trying to be on time for everything, and trying to do damage with every swing,” Craig said. “Obviously this year I want to do both; as much of both as I can. That’s the maturation, too, being more mature and knowing what pitches I do most damage with.”

Craig has another goal in mind: 106 RBIs. Why that number? Check out the stats for the Triple-A Tidewater Tides in 1983. That season, a 25-year-old Hurdle racked up 105 RBIs.

“We have a running joke that we may be the last two players that have ever driven in 100 runs in a Minor League season,” the Pirates’ manager said, smiling.

“I kind of want this year to beat him,” Craig said, “Just so I can have it over him.”

Drafted as a third baseman out of Wake Forest University, Craig also made strides defensively in his second full season at first. Altoona manager Michael Ryan challenged Craig to be the best-fielding first baseman in Double-A, and by some reviews, he was. He led all Eastern League first basemen with a .993 fielding percentage, and Baseball America named him the league’s top defender at first.

Craig's immediate path to the Majors is unclear, as first base should be occupied by Josh Bell for the foreseeable future. For now, though, he’s trying to learn as much as possible from more experienced players like Bell -- and stay hungry.

“It’s nice to just kind of learn from him, listen to him, just kind of hear what they do during the season, the ups and downs they go through, just trying to soak it all in as much as I can,” Craig said. “It’s going really well.”