Jacob Joseph McCarthy (born July 30, 1997) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021.

Jake McCarthy
Arizona Diamondbacks – No. 31
Outfielder
Born: (1997-07-30) July 30, 1997 (age 27)
Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
August 27, 2021, for the Arizona Diamondbacks
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.270
Home runs20
Runs batted in119
Stolen bases77
Teams

Amateur career

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McCarthy attended Scranton High School in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 23rd round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign and played college baseball at the University of Virginia.[1][2] In 2017, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[3] After three seasons at Virginia, where he stole 36 bases in 38 attempts while batting .337/.423/.476, he was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the competitive balance round A of the 2018 MLB draft.[4][5]

Professional career

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McCarthy made his professional debut with the Arizona League Diamondbacks before being promoted to the Hillsboro Hops. He played 2019 with the Visalia Rawhide, batting .277/.341/.405 in 195 at bats with 18 steals in 20 attempts, and after the season played in the Arizona Fall League.[6]

He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] McCarthy started 2021 with the Amarillo Sod Poodles before being promoted to the Reno Aces.[8] Between the two teams he batted .253/.332/.500 with 29 steals in 33 attempts.[9]

The Diamondbacks promoted McCarthy to the major leagues on August 27, 2021.[10] On August 29, McCarthy collected his first career hit, an RBI double off of Philadelphia Phillies starter Ranger Suárez.[11] McCarthy finished the 2021 major league season with a .220/.333/.373 slash line, with 13 hits, 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 4 RBI, and 8 walks, all in 24 games.[12]

In 2022 he batted .283/.342/.427 in 321 at bats, with 23 stolen bases in 26 attempts.[13] He had the fastest sprint speed of all major league right fielders, at 30.1 feet/second.[14]

Personal life

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His brother, Joe McCarthy, played baseball for the San Francisco Giants in 2020.

References

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  1. ^ Staff REPORT. "Pittsburgh Pirates select Jake McCarthy in 23rd round of MLB Draft". Scranton Times-Tribune.
  2. ^ BLUM, SAM. "UVa outfielder McCarthy races into biggest year of his career". The Daily Progress.
  3. ^ "#5 Jake McCarthy". pointstreak.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  4. ^ BLUM, SAM. "Virginia outfielder McCarthy chosen by Diamondbacks in MLB Draft". The Daily Progress.
  5. ^ "Arizona Diamondbacks draft: Matt McLain, Jake McCarthy, Alek Thomas". Azcentral.com. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  6. ^ "Jake McCarthy College, Amateur, Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics".
  7. ^ Piecoro, Nick. "Jake McCarthy Adds Extra Pop During Summer". www.baseballamerica.com.
  8. ^ Smith, Dylan (June 26, 2021). "Quite the Prospective: Jake McCarthy | Aces". Milb.com. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  9. ^ "Jake McCarthy College, Amateur, Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics".
  10. ^ Anthony Franco. "Diamondbacks Select Jake McCarthy". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  11. ^ "McCarthy delivers first MLB hits – NEPA Sports Nation".
  12. ^ "Jake McCarthy Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  13. ^ "Jake McCarthy Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More".
  14. ^ "Statcast Sprint Speed Leaderboard".
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