Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll adjusting, learning in season’s opening weeks

MIAMI — The pitch appeared to be well above the zone, nearly letter-high. It was called a strike. The first two weeks of the season have seen Arizona Diamondbacks rookie Corbin Carroll be more aggressive at the plate than he would like — and yet in that moment on Saturday afternoon, he was penalized for what should have been a good take.

Carroll quickly regrouped. He gathered his thoughts. He stomped his back foot into the batter’s box. And, two pitches later, he hit a rocket into right field for a leadoff double.

That sequence in the top of the seventh inning helped set the stage for what at the time was the go-ahead run for the Diamondbacks. The lead did not hold — the bullpen ultimately coughed it up in a 3-2 loss to the Miami Marlins — but the at-bat was an encouraging sign for the Diamondbacks’ talented young outfielder.

There have been a few of them in recent days, including on Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers, when he stayed back on a slider and drove it out to the opposite field for his third home run of the season.

There was also a learning moment: On Friday, he was cut down at third trying to advance on a ground ball to shortstop.

Through 15 games, Carroll’s season has been a mixed bag. He is hitting .273 (15 for 55) with five extra-base hits. He is a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts. But he also has 13 strikeouts, has yet to draw a walk and has an above-average chase rate.

“It is what it is,” Carroll said. “I’m taking it a day at a time. I think there’s plenty of stuff I need to keep getting better at and keep working on. I’d say a lot of my focus is there while not losing what I’m doing well in that process.”

Carroll kept his focus in the seventh against right-hander Matt Barnes. The count was 1-1 when the high strike was called. Carroll shook his head but never lost his cool.

“I kind of stepped out, reset, and kind of just put a good swing on a pitch that he left over the plate,” Carroll said.

That swing produced a 107.6 mph line drive that left Marlins right fielder Jesus Sanchez scrambling back, where it short-hopped the wall for a double.

“He hits a ball over the right fielder’s head in a split second,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “That was a very impressive swing.”

Carroll entered the day having swung at 36.8 percent of the pitches he has seen out of the strike zone, a good bit above the major league average of 28.4 percent. Most of the chase has been on pitches other than fastballs.

It has been a stark difference from spring training, when Carroll drew a team-high 13 walks in 60 plate appearances. But he said he feels like he is getting closer to having the kind of approach he wants.

“I feel good up there,” Carroll said. “I definitely agree with what you say; I think it’s fair that I’m expanding the zone a little bit more than I would like to right now — or just ever. We’ll get it dialed in.”

Carroll has been nearly flawless on the bases. He has stolen second base five times and third once. He has made two outs on the bases, the first coming when he briefly popped off the second-base bag after beating the throw. The second came on the play on Friday; Lovullo said Carroll knew what he had done wrong by the time he got to the dugout.

Carroll said he needed to be more “station to station” given that his team was down five runs late in the game.

“I felt pretty bad about making that out there,” he said.

Diamondbacks Daily: Marlins rally late to take second game over Arizona

On Saturday, he showed the kind of impact he can make on the bases just by his mere presence. After his double, Carroll seemed to cause Barnes to balk just by being active while taking his lead. It turned out to be an important 90 feet; with a runner at third, the Marlins brought the infield in, allowing Gabriel Moreno to ground a single past a diving shortstop and into center.

That put the Diamondbacks in front, 2-1, but reliever Scott McGough could not protect it. He allowed hits to three of the four batters he faced in the seventh, exiting with the game tied and the tying run on base. Reliever Andrew Chafin entered and allowed a soft single to Luis Arraez to drive home what turned out to be the winning run.

The Diamondbacks, who came into the weekend riding high after a 5-2 homestand, will be looking to avoid a sweep on Sunday with right-hander Zac Gallen on the mound against Sandy Alcántara, the reigning National League Cy Young winner.

As for Carroll, Lovullo sounds generally pleased with the progress he has seen. He sees a player who is still getting comfortable, still learning.

“I know that he wants to get a hit every at-bat — that’s what young hitters go through — but he’s doing a great job,” Lovullo said. “There are small assessments along the way. The baserunning blunder, trying to do too much. Probably per at-bat, trying to do too much — and not getting on base via the walk. Those are some things that we’re talking about here that are more fine-tuning him. But he’ll get there. He’s an exceptional talent and he’s done very well up to this point.”

Read more: Despite rough start to season, Diamondbacks to stick with Madison Bumgarner in rotation

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: D-Backs’ Corbin Carroll adjusting, learning in season’s opening weeks