McCarthy is the 233rd former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Madison Mallard Joe McCarthy, made his Major League debut for the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, July 23, 2020. McCarthy is the 233rd former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
McCarthy, who played collegiately at Virginia, played for the Madison Mallards in 2013. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 5th round of the 2015 MLB draft.
McCarthy played in 49 regular season games for the Mallards in 2013. He hit .303 with three home runs, a triple and nine doubles. He drove in 41 runs and stole seven bases. McCarthy went 11 for 21 in the playoffs that season with one home run and 11 RBI as the Mallards won the Northwoods League Summer Collegiate World Series. He was also chosen by MLB scouts to participate in the Big League Dreams Showcase.
McCarthy began his professional career with the Hudson Valley Renegades of the Short Season A New York-Penn League in 2015. He spent the whole season there, batting .277/.362/.337 with 21 RBI and 18 stolen bases in 49 games.
McCarthy began the 2016 season with the Bowling Green Hot Rods of the Class A Midwest League. In June, the Rays promoted him to the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Hi-A Florida State League. In 104 total games between the two teams, he slashed .285/.398/.430 with eight home runs, 60 RBI, and 19 stolen bases.
In 2017, he played for the Montgomery Biscuits of the AA Southern League where he batted .284/.409/.434 with seven home runs, 56 RBI, 20 stolen bases, and an .843 OPS in 127 games.
The Rays invited McCarthy to spring training in 2018. He spent the 2018 season with the Durham Bulls of the AAA International League where he batted .269/.377/.513, and then played for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League. The Rays added McCarthy to their 40-man roster after the season.
On July 31, 2019, the Rays traded McCarthy to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Jacob Lopez. He was assigned to the Sacramento River Cats following the trade and hit .165/.247/.241/.488 with one home run and 4 RBI in 79 at bats.
McCarthy spent five seasons in the Minor Leagues with the Rays and the Giants. Over 400 games he hit .261 with 30 home runs, 16 triples, 81 doubles and 191 RBI. He also stole 62 bases and walked 235 times.
In his Major League debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers, McCarthy started the game in right field and went 0-4 at the plate.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 27th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 230 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.