PITTSBURGH - Call Craig Wilson a part-time player no more.

In fact, the 27-year-old was the only Pirate to start each of the team's first 41 games.

He's played mostly at first base and in right field even though he went into spring training as the team's No. 2 catcher.

"As long as it's somewhere between the left-field and right-field lines, I don't care," he said. "I just want to be out there."

Wilson needn't worry about that. He could be the Pirates' Triple Crown winner this season as he's reaching the end of May with a .340 batting average, 10 homers and 30 RBI.

Wilson already has 160 at-bats this season - he had only 309 all of last season - and he didn't hit his 10th homer in 2003 until Aug. 22.

"He's just matured," Pirate manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Craig has gotten better every year. He's starting to cut down on his strikeouts and he's using the right side of the ballfield.

"He's worked his way into being an every-day ballplayer," the manager added.

Last Sunday against Milwaukee, Wilson homered to left, doubled down the right-field line and singled to right center.

Wilson said he's not sure when he began hitting to the opposite field in the big leagues.

"I've always been able to do it, but I know I haven't always been doing it," Wilson said. "When I was in high school, there was a big apartment building behind the left field fence at our field.

"Our coach told the right-handed power guys that if we didn't hit the ball to right field, we couldn't hit. So I learned that early."

Wilson's strikeout-to-walk ratio still isn't where it needs to be - he has 14 walks and 42 strikeouts this year - but he is striking out only once in every four at-bats this season.

Two years ago, he struck out once every three at-bats. Last year, he fanned 89 times in 309 at bats.

"He's doing a fantastic job for us," McClendon said. "I'm very happy with him. He's still erratic at times, but he'll keep improving the more he makes contact."

Wilson insists that not having the same steady position in the field is not affecting his hitting, though he's batting .440 as an outfielder and .260 as a first baseman.

"I wasn't aware of that," he said. "It's coincidence, nothing more."

He's even ready to go behind the plate again if and when the situation calls for it.

"It's like riding a bicycle," he said. "You never forget how to do it. I've caught all of the starting pitchers in our rotation before, so I know what they throw and how they throw.

"I'd have no problem catching. If it gets me in the lineup that day, I'm all for it."

Now that he is playing every day, Wilson hopes he can take the next step in his career later this year - playing every day for a contender.

He wants to do that in a Pirates uniform.

"Our division is bunched up and I think it's gonna stay that way," he said. "If we hold our own in divisional games, there's no reason why we can't be in the middle of things like everybody else come September."