Arizona Diamondbacks’ Jake McCarthy making his case as an everyday big leaguer

SAN DIEGO — Just about once a game, outfielder Jake McCarthy will make his way toward the Diamondbacks’ hitting coaches and talk strategy. He will comment on what opposing pitchers have been doing to him, hitting coach Joe Mather said, and he will devise an approach to take with him the next time he goes to the plate.

“Not only is he paying attention but paying attention to the right stuff with the ability to make the adjustment on the physical side,” Mather said. “Sometimes it’s at-bat-to-at-bat, sometimes game-to-game.”

These are the kind of high-level adjustments required to remain a top hitter at baseball’s highest level, and they could be an indication that McCarthy’s breakout performance over the past six weeks has some staying power. Since he began getting everyday at-bats after the All-Star break, McCarthy has hit .317/.380/.472 with eight doubles, a triple, four homers and 13 steals in 14 tries.

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This season, McCarthy, a left-handed hitter, has handled lefties better than right-handers. He has been terrific with runners in scoring position, going 21 for 55 (.382). And he has been a solid defender at all three outfield positions.

As he climbed through the minors, many evaluators believed he would be best suited as an extra outfielder. Some saw him as a fourth outfielder or a platoon bat. Others saw him as more of a fifth outfielder. He is beginning to show he might be more than that.

McCarthy comes from a baseball family. His dad was drafted three times. His brother has played professionally since 2015. But McCarthy gained notoriety in his home state of Pennsylvania as much for his exploits on the football field, where he set Scranton High records for rushing yards in a game (351), season (2,105) and career (6,080).

That background made Mather wonder if McCarthy was going to be able to make such quick, astute adjustments so early in his major league career.

“I would say there’s a little bit of a trend there that sometimes guys who played multiple sports didn’t have the time to hone in on some of the nuance,” Mather said. “Certainly not that they couldn’t handle it physically, but it’s usually the guys who played it their whole life who have those deeper thoughts on offense and defense.”

But having seen McCarthy quickly change his approach within a series or even a game — on Monday, for example, he looked bad against the Padres’ Blake Snell in his first at-bat before hitting a ringing single to center the next time — has made a believer out of Mather.

“He’s one of our best thinkers,” Mather said.

McCarthy has exhibited some interesting qualities as a hitter. In recent weeks, he has shown himself to be an aggressive hitter early in counts but not to the extent that it takes away from his selective approach. (His 24 percent chase rate is better than the league average of 29 percent.) McCarthy says this could just be a recent trend that will reverse itself, but he admits he likes to swing the bat.

“When I get a pitch to hit or a pitch that I feel like I can, not necessarily do damage on , but put my barrel on,” he said, “I’m comfortable swinging at it.”

McCarthy also has shown a knack for handling pitches up in the zone, particularly fastballs, quickly turning them around and lining them into right field, occasionally for extra bases. At a time when hitters throughout the league have been susceptible to velocity letter-high and above, McCarthy has hit those pitches well, compiling a .483 slugging on them. (League average is .362).

“I feel like that’s probably the pitch that’s come most naturally for me to hit in my career,” McCarthy said. “With the exception of when I was trying to gain some power over the past year or two, I’ve always had a pretty quick, short swing. I wouldn’t say it’s intentional, but I would say I have a pretty flat swing. I keep my barrel pretty flat in my stance. So I think it makes it a little easier for me to catch up to that pitch.”

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His ability to make contact pairs well with another aspect of his game: blazing speed. His sprint speed, according to Statcast, ranks in the 98th percentile in the majors. It helps explain why his results are better than his batted-ball data would indicate; McCarthy’s speed allows him to beat out infield hits or stretch singles into doubles.

“I like putting the ball in play, as funny as that might sound,” McCarthy said. “A hard ground out is a million times more valuable to me than a strikeout. They might both be outs, but I think having the ability to like, we’re 0-2, maybe this guy is really good on the mound, and just having the ability to put pressure on the defense (is valuable). Maybe they boot a ball. Maybe it squeaks through. If I can do that more often than not, I think that will help with all the other numbers, our team numbers, and so forth.”

With Daulton Varsho, Alek Thomas and Corbin Carroll joining McCarthy on the roster as young, left-handed hitting outfielders, the Diamondbacks had been open in recent months to moving one of them in a trade. Sources say they discussed possible trade scenarios involving McCarthy leading up to the deadline. Whether McCarthy’s recent performance changes their thinking remains to be seen, but there is little question his value has shot up as a result.

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McCarthy did not want to sound cliché in proclaiming that he has always believed he could perform the way he has, but that happens to be the truth, he said, no matter what people might have thought.

“There is part of being a baseball player where it’s like, ‘I know what I’m capable of,’” he said. “I think I can be this player and be a consistent big leaguer. That’s just my objective. It’s not to prove people wrong or keep chasing numbers or whatever. I think every night I can be an all-around solid player and contribute to this team in a number of ways.”

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: D-Backs’ Jake McCarthy making his case as an everyday big leaguer