Let's take a look at the new Arizona Diamondbacks star rookie outfielder Corbin Carroll. He was called up August 29th which was a Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies. The former first-round pick had quickly climbed the minor league system after being drafted in 2019 out of high school. Despite missing the 2020 season due to Covid and the 2021 season due to injury (aside from 7 games), Carroll climbed from Double-A to the MLB. The No.1 prospect has the grades of a future star, but are his numbers backing that up in the MLB over a short-eight game sample.
Let's take a look at how Corbin Carroll is doing so far for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Corbin Carroll has appeared in 8 games so far for the Diamondbacks. That's a very small sample size, but it does give a decent idea of whether or not the 22-year-old outfielder is overmatched in the MLB. So far, he has 34 plate appearances with two walks to nine strikeouts. He has six runs and nine hits, including three doubles and a home run, with seven RBI.
That's good for a batting line of .281/.324/.469/.792 with a 121 OPS+. He did get caught stealing at one of the worst times a baserunner can get out. On Wednesday evening, in a two-run game that the Dbacks were behind in against the Padres, Carroll committed a cardinal sin in baseball.
There were two runners on, including Carroll on at second base, with no outs and Alek Thomas up to hit. Carroll attempted to steal third to get into a better scoring position and got thrown out for the first out of the inning. Anyone that has played baseball knows that one of the absolute worst things you can do as a baserunner is getting out at third base for the first or third out of an inning.
The Arizona Diamondbacks ended up not scoring any runs that inning and losing the game. It was a big turning point, especially since with Carroll's elite speed, he's in scoring position at first base even, let alone second. It was a rookie error that unfortunately didn't go his or the Dbacks' way. He'll learn and move on. This is the kind of issue you'll encounter with a such team.
The only other issue with Corbin is that he's striking out a bit too much. It appears that he's being overly aggressive. That'll slow with time and as he begins to realize that he is a long-term member of the Diamondbacks. Yes, he has to fight for playing time in the loaded outfield, but he isn't going to get sent down over a couple of rough weeks.
Believe in Corbin Carroll as he's the real deal. I fully expect him to be an All-Star at some point in the future and become a franchise cornerstone player. Enjoy watching the youth movement that the Diamondbacks have going on. It's pretty awesome to watch.