D-backs Jake McCarthy Talks Center Field and Hitting

Jake McCarthy could be seen racing all over center field on Monday in the Arizona Diamondbacks' Cactus League game against the Chicago Cubs. He had three putouts and got a couple of balls in the gap back in quickly. On one play, he raced in towards right center to snare a sinking line drive.

A less-speedy outfielder might have had to make a diving catch, but with a good jump and a sprint speed that ranks in the 98th percentile of MLB, he made it look easy.

No dive. No Sprawl. Just a nice running catch. It's plays like this, turning hits into outs, that allowed McCarthy to register +5 Fielding Run Value according to Statcast.

McCarthy has played all over the outfield in his career, but going back to the last year his innings have started to gravitate more towards center field. Initially that was due to an injury to Alek Thomas, but the D-backs have decided they want to try to keep Corbin Carroll in right field as much as possible.

McCarthy finds himself in a competition for playing time nonetheless, and is intent on continuing to improve. His best chance for more playing time in 2025 is to show he can continue to improve in center.

"I like being in center," McCarthy said. "But, you know, obviously I've been in right a little bit, and I just think being a complete outfielder, trying to improve on the arm a little bit, be good at plays back by the wall, I just don't want there to be a weakness or a thing that I don't think I do well."

McCarthy has always been a self-aware player, and that came through again in our conversation. He explained he's "just trying to acknowledge things that I can do better and, try to attack them every single day."

Like just about every Diamondback player we get to talk to, accountability to teammates and coaches is a core value for McCarthy. "We have such a good pitching staff, I just don't want to be a reason why they're giving up runs."

Outfield and baserunning coach Dave McKay has been a mentor and guide for McCarthy throughout his major league career. The combination of having a coach like that along with his own dedication is what is allowing McCarthy to reach the best of his ability.

"I don't think I could tell you enough how much Mac helps with this in the outfield. I've said it before, but he's just an absolute stickler when it comes to getting jumps and making sure we're touching on our work every single day. So he's a big part of it.

"But I also just think there's some accountability there, when we're doing drills with Mac doing it to the best of my ability, and trying to be present and locked in during the game."

Defense isn't the only part of McCarthy's game that is in focus. Last year he rode a long hot streak in the middle of the season to a .285/.349/.400 batting average. The .749 OPS worked out to a 109 OPS+ or about 9% better than league average.

But the one criticism of McCarthy's game on offense is that he hasn't often tapped into his natural power, and his batted ball metrics and exit velocities rank in the lower percentiles, making him seem like a potential regression candidate.

McCarthy is focused first and foremost on taking good swings at good pitches and being selective. He struck out in his first at-bat on Monday, but finished with a single and a ground rule double into the right field corner. He had two runs scored and an RBI.

Not one to chase results however, he is focused on the process. "It's frustrating, I think, sometimes when you miss pitches that you think you should hit. I think my first at-bat was a good example of that today, but being able to make adjustments on the fly, and finish the day pretty strong is just a good way of looking at it."

McCarthy isn't concerned so much with the exit velocity readings, but is just looking to find that happy medium. If it's a pitch he can handle, just hit it hard on a line. That said, in batting practice and early games, he's been pulling the ball with authority. Three of his four hits so far this spring have been doubles.

At the end of the day, spring results don't matter. "I think stacking days like this throughout spring, regardless of what the numbers look like, I think you want to trend up towards the end of March."

It's a good bet that McCarthy will be ready when the bell strikes and the season starts for the Arizona Diamondbacks on March 27.