Jake McCarthy Adds Extra Pop During Summer

Jake McCarthy isn’t trying to swing harder or hit more balls in the air, but after a summer spent gaining strength and retooling his swing, the outfielder enjoyed a successful stint in instructional league in which he showed off his newfound pop.

 “It seems like when everything in my swing is moving accordingly, I can do what I want without getting out of my comfort zone,” the 23-year-old said.

McCarthy chose his words carefully. He knows he still has to improve as a hitter and that the fall represented a tiny sample of at-bats compared to a normal season.

But he is encouraged by his results and feels good about the time he spent during what would have been a normal season. He was not invited to the alternate training site, so he had all of the summer to work.

In addition to gaining 20 pounds of muscle, he said he added more “fluidity” to his swing, doing so in part by analyzing the metrics derived from a Blast Motion sensor. He said having the data available allowed him to do some trial-and-error experimenting to see what changes seemed to correlate with better bat speed.

McCarthy, who is 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, was among the best performers at instructs, driving balls with authority in a way officials had never seen from him before.

“He really took a big step forward,” D-backs assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye said. “He looked more athletic, looser and was really hitting the ball hard all over the field.”

The 2018 supplemental first-rounder from Virginia was coming off a rough 2019 season in which he had two stints on the injured list and hit .277/.341/.405 for high Class A Visalia. 

He called instructional league a “six-week preview” of next season and is hoping the momentum from the fall can carry over. If it does, McCarthy, who has always been able to hit, run and play center field, will have elevated his prospect ceiling with his improved power potential.

“I don’t want to come off as though I’ve figured it out,” he said, “but I think I’m definitely heading the right direction.”

 

SNAKE BITES

—The Diamondbacks added shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, righthanders Luis Frias, J.B. Bukauskas and Matt Peacock and outfielder Stuart Fairchild to the 40-man roster. All but Peacock were obvious additions given their prospect standing. Peacock, a 23rd-rounder out of South Alabama in 2017, put himself on the map by virtue of his lively, groundball-inducing sinker.

—Third baseman Tristin English had his instructional league season end early due to a core injury.