Jake McCarthy Discusses His Breakout Center Field Defense

Jake McCarthy is having a massive year with the bat, but his glove is not far behind.

Aug 25, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder Jake McCarthy (31) makes a catch for an out against the Boston Red Sox during the third inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

Jake McCarthy has been one of the Arizona Diamondbacks' true breakout players in 2024. He is in the lineup now on most nights, and more often than not plays a crucial role in the team's victories. A key part of the young outfielder's game that has been largely overlooked is his incredible development as a center fielder.

2024 has been a year of injuries for the Diamondbacks. This did not leave their outfield unscathed, as Alek Thomas was one of the first men down in April with a Hamstring Strain. This would sideline him for a good portion of the year and paved the way for Jake McCarthy to receive playing time.

McCarthy did not have a fleshed-out role with the team entering the year. He was injured for the D-backs' magical postseason run, and had a down 2023 year as a whole, losing almost all of his power, and struggling to translate minor-league success to the major league level. This left him with a 78 wRC+, a .644 OPS, and only 0.1 WAR for the year.

This year has been a different story for McCarthy from start to finish. He has upped his OPS by nearly .200 points, all the way to an .844, and on September third has already matched his career high in Home Runs. His 125 wRc+, and 3.2 WAR have also been crucial to putting the Diamondbacks in a position to make the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2002.

Offense though is hardly the only part of a baseball game, and what McCarthy has done on defense this year has gone criminally underappreciated.

McCarthy Stepped Up

When Alek Thomas went down with injury for the first time, it was Corbin Carroll who would often fill in at Center Field. Carroll himself is experiencing a defensive breakout, but at the Right Field position, somewhere he would once again transition to as the season progressed. Read more about Carroll's defense HERE. It would be McCarthy who would step up and take the Center Field job once and for all.

The Diamondbacks are blessed with blistering speed at many positions, and the outfield is no exception. McCarthy alone possesses 97th percentile sprint speed, with 98th percentile base running value, according to MLB Statcast metrics

While good legs are important for an outfielder, it doesn't guarantee that a player will be good defensively. Moving into a new outfield position, McCarthy stepped up and has worked hard to become great in that spot.

"We get these sheets with our jumps on them, with the catch probabilities," McCarthy told Arizona Diamondbacks ON SI's Jack Sommers. "I think it's interesting after a game, to see that when you missed a ball by a couple of feet, to realize, maybe my jump wasn't the best, so 'oh that ball is catchable', and to keep improving and holding ourselves accountable."

The sheets McCarthy refers to are provided by legendary First Base, Baserunning, and Outfield Coach Dave McKay. He is famous around the league for the methodical work he puts into the details of the game, and in particular, the first five steps. Outfield jumps are critical to making catches and saving games with defense.

"Especially with guys like Corbin, and Alek, and Gurriel it always seems like those guys always get great jumps, and that raises the bar [for me]."

The team around McCarthy has certainly made an impact, and he has stepped up when they needed it most. With Corbin Carroll in right field, and McCarthy in center, there is once again no-fly zone in effect, something that was often only said when Alek Thomas was fielding the position.

In terms of statistics, McCarthy ranks in the 89th percentile in Range or Outs Above Average on Baseball Savant. Even with a slow start to the year, and learning a relatively new position on an everyday level, he still holds a 74th percentile fielding run value, and that number has only improved.

"Jake [McCarthy] has gravitated towards making an improvement every single day. The major league average to reacting and getting full speed to the baseball is .98, and I think Jake is under that consistently." said manager Torey Lovullo. Where McCarthy takes his game from here is still unclear, but his breakout into an everyday player in 2024 has Diamondbacks fans excited.

As the Diamondbacks try and battle their way through a brutal remaining schedule, make sure and keep things locked into Arizona Diamondbacks ON SI for all things D-backs!