Arizona Diamondbacks 2024 Player Review: Jake McCarthy

The D-backs' speedy outfielder had a breakout year in 2024.

Arizona Diamondbacks Jake McCarthy (31) gestures towards his teammates after sliding safely back into second base while overrunning his double against the San Diego Padres at Chase Field in Phoenix on Sept. 29, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This article is part of a series chronicling the individual seasons of players who appeared for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024.

Reviews for players who still have rookie eligibility for 2025 will appear in our prospect season reviews. Players are presented in the reverse order of their aWAR, an average of Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs WAR.

OF Jake McCarthy

2024 contract status: Pre-Arbitration, $800,000

Jake McCarthy 2024 and career statistics / Alex D'Agostino | Diamondbacks On SI

Left-handed hitting outfielder Jake McCarthy burst onto the scene in 2022, quickly becoming one of the Diamondbacks' best hitters over his first 99 games, but the 2023 season was a letdown, as he hit just .243 with a .644 OPS and two homers.

He bounced between Triple-A and the majors, and struggled with injury, missing out on the D-backs' World Series run.

In 2024, there was question of whether or not he'd be a contributor, or even remain on the roster. He figured to be a bench bat to begin the year, but a hamstring injury to Alek Thomas opened the door for McCarthy to take on a more prominent role in the lineup and the outfield.

He immediately began to produce, hitting .295 with a triple and three doubles through April, including a six-game hit streak with three stolen bases.

May looked similar, as he went 3-for-4 on May 5, catapulting his average above .300. He knocked his first pair of homers in May, and while his monthly average dropped a bit as the month went on, he was beginning to find more pop, slugging .407 while walking eight times against eight strikeouts.

His consistency continued, hitting .286 through June with an impressive .393 OBP. He frequently found ways to get on base, hitting for average, taking walks and stealing seven bases. While he wasn't knocking in runs or smashing homers, he was getting on base and creating chaos, while playing solid outfield defense.

But the young outfielder's season truly came to life in July. In 17 July games, he recorded a hit in 11 of them, and began to crush the baseball at an incredible rate.

Despite not hitting a home run in the month of July, he slashed an incredible .345/.387/.517, with two doubles and four triples, and an unbelievable performance in Pittsburgh, where he went 5-for-5 for the first time in a game in his career - the only D-back to do so in 2024.

And he continued to sustain his production. August, though seeing a slight dip from July's monstrous numbers, was still an excellent month for McCarthy. He slashed .311/.368/.495, with his home run count more than doubling after smashing five throughout August.

He recorded eight multi-hit games in that month, and began to rack up exceptional run production, scoring 17 runs and knocking in 26, both season-high monthly totals.

But perhaps McCarthy's most iconic moment came at home on August 13 against the Colorado Rockies. Down 3-2, with two outs and the bases loaded, McCarthy ripped a hard groundball down the third base line for his third hit of the game, scoring two runs and walking off the Rockies en route to a sweep.

Unfortunately for both McCarthy and the D-backs, September is when he began to slump. He hit just .234 in the final month, and slugged only .255, with just two doubles, no triples and no homers. He struck out 13 times against two walks, and knocked in just six runs.

But as a whole, McCarthy had an excellent 2024 season. He finished the year with an impressive .285/.349/.400 batting line over 142 games, good for a .749 OPS and 109 OPS+ (9% above average).

His outfield defense wasn't perfect, as he put up -3 Defensive Runs Saved, while splitting somewhat even time between center and right field, but his 98th percentile sprint speed did afford him +6 Outs Above Average, among the top 10% of MLB.

But perhaps his most impressive look comes from his platoon splits. Despite being a left-handed hitter, McCarthy showed an ability to hit left-handed pitching at an exceptional rate.

Though he saw fewer opportunities against southpaws, his splits were nearly identical, hitting .284 against lefties and .286 against right-handers.

His power numbers were skewed more towards right-handed pitching, but McCarthy was an on-base machine, even against some of the tougher left-handed pitchers. On top of that, he hit .350 with runners in scoring position, with 46 RBI in RISP situations.

2025 Outlook

2025 Contract status: Final Pre Arbitration Year, Estimated salary $800K

McCarthy figures to have earned a more everyday role with the D-backs after his excellent 2024 season, and with Alek Thomas struggling, both with injury and at the plate, McCarthy's high level of production could outweigh the defensive prowess that Thomas brings to center field.

Entering his age-27 season, it seems that the speedy outfielder has begun to find his game, maintaining that chaotic presence on the basepaths while hitting for average and finding ways to get on, rather than slugging.

Certainly, that brand of hitter fits Arizona's archetype. However, that doesn't change the fact that McCarthy still put forward some of the league's worst average exit velocity (84.5), Barrel rate (2.7%) and sweet-spot rate (30.4%).

Those factors could suggest some regression in 2025, but even a slight step down from his 2024 numbers would total a notably productive and valuable player. With that said, his whiff and strikeout rates ranked in the top 20% of MLB, and his .265 xBA (expected batting average) fell just below the top 20%.

Now, it was recently reported by MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that the D-backs are receiving trade interest on both McCarthy and Thomas.

While it remains a possibility, and Arizona has decent motivation to sell high on either one of them, there's still a high chance McCarthy is back with the D-backs in 2025.