Jake

McCarthy

McCarthy led off in each of the Rockies’ first five games before sitting Thursday and being dropped in the order today. He’s now 2-for-21 to start the year, though he has managed four steals anyway. Even though Coors suits his approach pretty well, there’s just no good reason for Colorado to be playing him over Jordan Beck, who has now been on the bench in two out of three games. He might turn in an adequate year, but not in a way that should get him included in the Rockies’ plans for 2027 and beyond.

We wouldn’t want to count on him remaining relevant in the second half, but as the Rockies’ probable leadoff man against righties — and maybe still a starter against lefties — there’s a decent chance of McCarthy offering mixed-league value early on. The best-case scenario for Colorado is that he puts up solid for four months and then gets flipped for a prospect at the deadline.

McCarthy’s fall from fantasy-relevance with the Diamondbacks likely remains at the forefront of most fantasy manager’s brains this spring, but it’s worth noting that he’s hitting .297 in 13 games since arriving in Colorado. The 28-year-old speedster appears to be the favorite to lead off for the Rockies on Opening Day and should get a boost in the batting average department from Coors Field. At the risk of sounding like Charlie Brown with Lucy and the football, there are some reasons to believe in McCarthy as a late-round flyer, especially in deeper mixed leagues.

It’s a phenomenal landing spot for the speedy McCarthy, who stands to benefit exponentially from Coors Field’s high-octane offensive environment — particularly from a BABIP standpoint — as he steps into a corner outfield role for Colorado next season. The 28-year-old former first-round pick was out of minor-league options this spring and likely to be lost in the shuffle with Arizona by an overflow of left-field depth, which includes some combination of Jordan Lawlar, Blaze Alexander, Tim Tawa and Jorge Barrosa, along with top prospect Ryan Waldschmidt. He scuffled in the majors last season, but he’s only one year removed from a 25-steal campaign where he slashed .285/.349/.400 with eight homers in 142 games. He’s at least an interesting late-round flyer as a low-risk rebound candidate for fantasy purposes heading into drafts this spring.

Despite a brutal season at the dish in 2025, McCarthy earns a decent raise in his first season of arbitration eligibility. The Diamondbacks still have a logjam of outfielders on their roster heading into 2026 though and there has been plenty of speculation that either McCarthy or Alek Thomas could be moved elsewhere. Unless he winds up in a full-time gig someplace, it’s unlikely that the speedy 28-year-old will gain relevance from a fantasy perspective.

Both players are arbitration-eligible, so this would be a move to free up salary cap space; however, Piecoro also notes that the Diamondbacks believe they have plenty of options to move into that vacated outfield role, including Jorge Barossa, Tim Tawa, Blaze Alexander, and even Jordan Lawlar, who has been playing center field this winter. Nothing is imminent, but this remains a story to watch because of what it could mean for Lawlar or Tawa’s playing time.

McCarthy gave the D-backs an early 3-0 cushion with a three-run three-bagger off Logan Webb. Arizona would be outscored 11-2 for the remainder of the game. Baseball is hard. McCarthy is proof that the sport is difficult as he’s slashing .196/.246/.325 in his limited action with the Diamondbacks in 2025.

The 28-year-old outfielder drove in a run with a fielder’s choice in the second inning to get the Diamondbacks on the board. He also drove in a run with an RBI single in the fourth inning that increased the Diamondbacks’ advantage to 4-1. For the season, he’s now hitting .200/.251/.323 with three homers, 15 RBI and six stolen bases over 168 plate appearances.

The D-backs didn’t have a diagnosis for Gurriel’s injury after the game. He was hurt in the sixth inning against the Rangers as he tried to avoid a collision with Blaze Alexander in left-center. Alexander and Jake McCarthy are due for additional playing time while he’s out.

Gurriel was hurt while trying to avoid center fielder Blaze Alexander, who was in the process of making an excellent diving catch in left center. One imagines he’ll be out for quite some time, which will create more time for Alexander and Jake McCarthy in the outfield.