Can Grant McCray carve out role in SF Giants’ outfield in 2025?

SAN DIEGO — All eyes are on the Giants’ contingent of young players this September as they attempt to carve out roles for next season.

And if you ask Grant McCray, good thing folks are watching.

McCray, 23, started the season in Double-A and didn’t reach Triple-A until the middle of June, but in 19 games since getting the call to the bigs, his combination of power and athleticism has made a strong case for him to be a mainstay in the major-league outfield, or at least have a leg up in the crowded competition entering next spring.

“You can’t help but look at it differently,” Melvin said of the Giants’ outfield plans for 2025 after McCray homered twice and drove in five runs Saturday night in their 6-3 win over the Padres. “There’s still some time to go and we want to see as much of him as we possibly can, but you can’t help to think with Jung Hoo (Lee) coming back, too, what it might look like for us in the outfield next year.”

Coming against Padres starter and perennial Cy Young candidate Dylan Cease, McCray’s first home run — with two men on — provided an immediate answer to San Diego’s two-run first inning and gave the Giants the lead for good. His second — a two-run shot — padded their advantage in the ninth against left-handed reliever Yuki Matsui.

Both were no-doubters to right field, traveling a combined 844 feet, coming a day after he slapped a pair of singles the opposite way.

“I mean, one was a breaking ball; one was a heater,” Melvin said. “He’s got a history of hitting lefties in the minor leagues. It’s about putting the bat on the ball and finding a good pitch to hit. When he does it, you’ve seen him go to left field — opposite way — there’s a ton of power there.”

Swarmed by reporters at his locker afterward, McCray might have been the smallest person standing in the scrum. He is listed generously at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, but like starter Logan Webb remarked, “He’s hitting balls a lot further than what his body type would probably say.”

Posed the question directly — how does he generate so much power with such a diminutive frame? — McCray was as stumped as anybody else.

“I don’t know, you tell me, bro,” he laughed. “I don’t know, man. I’ve never really been a power hitter until a couple years ago. It’s all in the hips, man. All in the hips, I guess. I don’t know. The ball just jumps off (my bat).”

Since being called up on August 14, McCray has homered five times in 19 games to go with a triple and three doubles — a .569 slugging percentage that would be higher than any number he posted in four-and-a-half minor-league seasons. Over 162 games, that would put him on pace for 42 homers, a figure no Giant has come close to reaching since Barry Bonds. As a minor-leaguer, McCray topped out at 23 in 2022, when he also swiped 43 bags.

The scorching start to his big-league career has already put him in exclusive company, joining Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda and Jarrett Parker as the only players in the Giants’ San Francisco era with as many homers in their first 19 games.

“I don’t think he’s going to hit 40 before the year’s over, but he’s got that kind of power,” Melvin said. “I wouldn’t put that number on him. It’s just about pitch quality because obviously he has a ton of power. Just as impressive is when he goes the other way and hits some singles the other way.”

While Melvin said he “never envisioned” McCray reaching the majors this season, the same can’t be said for Webb, who recovered from a two-run first inning to complete his 19th quality start of the season with three runs over six innings in unseasonably hot and humid conditions.

This past winter, McCray joined Webb and Kyle Harrison at the Giants’ Papago Park complex and their private training sessions at nearby Push Performance in Arizona.

“I think I asked him probably every day in the offseason if he got the invite to big-league camp,” Webb said. “He finally did, and I was super excited. He didn’t get to play too much in spring, but getting the experience of big-league camp and being around guys, I for sure thought it was possible.”

Webb had a tougher time envisioning next year’s outfield without Mike Yastrzemski or Michael Conforto, who would have to clear way for McCray to join Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee, though the thought has certainly crossed Melvin’s mind.

Defensively, McCray plays with the same tenacity that led his father, Rodney, to run through a wall attempting to make a catch during his brief big-league career. A natural center fielder with the speed and instincts to handle the position, McCray has already dazzled with a handful of diving catches and showcased his arm strength on a couple of occasions Saturday night.

That said, the Giants have $113 million tied up in a player they signed last winter to be their center fielder of the future.

“I’ve told a lot of people before, if me and Jung Hoo are in the same outfield, it’s going to be a bad day for everyone else coming to our ballpark,” McCray said. “Honestly, I’m a center fielder. I’ve been a center fielder since I was a kid. That’s where I feel most comfortable. But if I’ve gotta play in the corners, I’ve gotta play in the corners.”

The brief look the organization got at Lee before his season-ending injury gave them enough confidence that he can handle the position long-term, allowing Melvin to dream about an outfield alignment of Ramos — who celebrated his 25th birthday — in left, Lee in center and McCray in right.