How Jake McCarthy Earned Another Big League Opportunity

Yesterday Jack Sommers reported that the Diamondbacks will recall outfielder Jake McCarthy from Triple-A Reno ahead of tonight's game against the Boston Red Sox. McCarthy missed a critical week of Spring Training with an illness, which left him playing catch-up as the season began. He slumped over the first four weeks of the season, batting .143 with only three extra base hits and a .467 OPS, before the team decided it would be better for him to work on his swing in Reno.

He was quick to dismiss that the week off in Spring Training impacted his swing, stating the results weren't there before and an adjustment needed to be made. "Just slowing it down, I was kind of rushed at the plate," said McCarthy. "That kind of caused me to swing at pitches I shouldn't be swinging at, bat in and out of the zone really quickly". 

In 22 games with the D-backs' top minor league affiliate, McCarthy hit .333 with four home runs and an OPS of .952. Fangraphs estimates that output to be 32% better than the average hitter in the Pacific Coast League, with a 132 wRC+. Those are solid numbers, but when it comes to evaluating players in that league it can be tricky due to the high elevation ballparks that make the PCL one of the more extreme hitter-friendly leagues in the minors.

"We had talked to Jake when he got sent out about making some quality adjustments, getting back to a finished swing and impact the baseball" said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo. "His game was starting to show those results".

Looking at the quality contact, which was a major issue in his early season slump, it has taken a much better turn with Reno. One of the main issues that plagued him in the big leagues was a 51.0% ground ball rate. With Reno, his ground ball rate dropped to 42.3%. As a result of fewer ground balls, his line drive rate jumped from 18.4% to 26.9%. McCarthy is the type of hitter who does most of his damage on line drives, where his speed becomes a significant factor on balls hit into the gaps.

"I feel like I'm on time, I feel like I'm seeing well, I feel like I'm taking good swings at good pitches," said McCarthy. "As complicated hitting can be, I try to keep it as possible the last few weeks."

On his optional assignment, McCarthy started 20 of 22 games in right field. So we should expect him in right with the occasional start in center when Carroll needs a day off. In his short stay in the big leagues, defensive metrics have liked his glove work in right field with McCarthy being +2 in both Outs Above Average and Defensive Runs Saved.