PITTSBURGH – This time a year ago, Kevin Newman was limping toward the finish line. His first stint in the Majors wasn’t going as he or the Pirates planned, and there were some questions about where he fit moving forward. The start of this season brought little clarity, as he was relegated to the bench on Opening Day, then landed on the injured list not long after that.

But now, Newman is surging to the end of his first full Major League season as exactly the kind of player the Pirates envisioned when they drafted him in the first round four years ago: their everyday, leadoff-hitting shortstop.

“Newman worked hard to earn an opportunity. When an opportunity became available, he’s earned more,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “The thing you keep sharing with players is you earn things in this game. You earn them by hard work, by getting better, by paying attention. For that next guy, stay ready. Newman’s a perfect example.”

Newman, 26, has emerged as one of the silver linings of a disappointing year for the Pirates. With two weeks left in the season, the rookie is batting .318 with an .817 OPS, 10 homers, 15 steals and 3.0 Wins Above Replacement. The Pirates have a lot of questions to answer regarding the present and future of their pitching staff, but they have the makings of an interesting lineup with Newman, Bryan Reynolds, Starling Marte and Josh Bell up top.

By FanGraphs’ calculation of WAR, Newman is having the fourth-best season by a Pirates shortstop since 1995. According to Baseball-Reference’s WAR metric, Newman has been Pittsburgh’s third-most valuable player behind only Reynolds and the All-Star Bell.

Entering play on Monday, Newman ranked sixth in the race for the National League batting title. He and Reynolds (.322) have a chance to become the first pair of qualified rookie teammates to hit over .300 since Fred Lynn and Jim Rice did so for the 1975 Red Sox.

“I think that’s pretty cool, but I’m just trying to take it day by day,” Newman said. “If I go out there and handle my business before the game and during the game, whatever that ends up being, it’ll take care of itself.”

That mentality helped Newman improve over the offseason after hitting just .209 with a .478 OPS while committing four errors in his first 31 Major League games late last year. He was physically exhausted by the time he was called up, about 10 pounds lighter than when he started the season and playing at the game’s highest level for the first time.

Some players might have been discouraged. Newman looked for the positives, like getting a feel for playing in bigger ballparks against opponents competing for a playoff spot. He used the rest as a learning experience. Knowing that he wore down as last season progressed, Newman bulked up over the winter and kept his weight on this year by lifting weights more often, eating better and staying hydrated.

“At the end of last year, I really didn’t understand how important it was,” Newman said. “Going into the offseason and preparing myself the way I did, I was able to see the difference – really, feel the difference. It was huge. It was really important.”

Newman entered Spring Training just trying to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster. He competed with Erik Gonzalez for the starting shortstop job, but the Pirates picked Gonzalez in late March and put Newman on the bench.

His April wasn’t ideal, either. Three days after a three-error inning at Wrigley Field on April 8, he wound up on the injured list with a lacerated finger that he accidentally cut while setting up a pitching machine. While Gonzalez was on the injured list when Newman returned in early May, he wound up splitting time with Cole Tucker for a few weeks.

But Newman kept hitting, so he kept playing -- mostly starting at shortstop, sometimes starting at second base, mostly batting leadoff, sometimes seventh. These days, a majority of his starts are in the leadoff spot as the shortstop, with the occasional move over to second base alongside Tucker at shortstop.

“When the season started, my attitude was really just, ‘How can I help the team win?’ Because I was going to be off the bench,” Newman said. “Whatever it was, I was just always trying to keep my mind set on how I can help the team win. That has carried throughout the season. Whatever it is, wherever I’m asked to play, all I’m trying to do is put the guys behind me in a better position to drive a run in and make plays on defense for my pitchers.”

And in doing all that, coming so far in only a year, Newman has earned a more permanent opportunity.

“It’s tough to say that Kevin Newman, given what he’s done this year, isn’t going to be our shortstop going forward,” general manager Neal Huntington said.