Jake McCarthy’s first season in Colorado has turned into a full-blown rebound.
The outfielder, who came into pro ball as a highly regarded 2018 draft pick out of the University of Virginia, is suddenly looking like the player the Diamondbacks hoped they were getting when they took him 39th overall. Back then, Arizona valued the whole package: speed, defense, and enough offensive upside to dream on.
The Diamondbacks doubled down on the outfield that draft, grabbing Alek Thomas in round two out of Mt. Carmel High School in Illinois. McCarthy reached the majors first in 2021, with Thomas following in 2022, and both eventually became important parts of Arizona’s outfield picture.
That pairing didn’t last the way the organization probably expected. McCarthy was moved to Colorado over the offseason, while Thomas got off to a rough start in 2026, hitting just .181 with a .562 OPS. Arizona designated him for assignment in early May, then sent him to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Even though both players were under club control through the 2028 season, the Diamondbacks’ outfield vision ended earlier than planned. McCarthy gave them a bit more offense than Thomas, but neither delivered the production the team was counting on.
Now McCarthy is the one thriving.
He’s been on a hot streak lately, and that surge has carried over into what has already been a strong first half in his first year with the Rockies. On July 3 against the San Francisco Giants, he did something no player in MLB history had ever done in the same game: hit a leadoff home run, a grand slam, and steal a base. He finished with four hits and six RBIs.
Jake McCarthy takes Logan Webb deep to leadoff the game!
He’s homered in back-to-back games to raise his OPS to .846 💪 pic.twitter.com/E4Dm3yte55
- Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) July 4, 2026
McCarthy’s turnaround has been a big reason Colorado’s offense has taken off. The Rockies are somehow sitting in the top 10 in batting average, on-base percentage, OPS, and runs scored, while ranking around the middle of the pack in home runs and stolen bases.
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