Grant McCray’s upside for SF Giants is obvious, but so is the flaw holding him back

The various auditions for next season’s roster continue for the SF Giants. And while they were already aware of Grant McCray’s strengths and flaws, the former third-round pick hasn’t shied away from showcasing his best attributes in his very limited playing time this season.

Drafted by San Francisco in 2019, McCray has gone through several short stints in the majors. He played 37 games in 2024, appeared in 22 last season and has made just six appearances so far this season after being called up on July 10 following Jonah Cox’s injury. During those six appearances, McCray has made his presence felt and impacted the game the way he does best. He stole a base and scored a run in each of his first two outings of the year in Colorado. He made a great diving catch in the sixth inning with the score tied at three against the Mariners last weekend.

Then, on Friday at Oracle Park, he drew a walk, stole another bag, reached third base on a wild pitch, scored on a sacrifice fly and threw a runner out at third in the top of the 10th inning to complete an inning-ending double play. His assist — a 94.3 mph dot to Casey Schmitt — was the fastest by a Giants player this season. The throw had shades of the 101 mph, on-the-money strike he fired last September in an unforgettable win against the other Los Angeles team.

The defense has never been the issue with McCray, whose dad played three seasons in the majors and earned the nickname “The Crash” for crashing through an outfield fence in the minor leagues. What has hampered Grant during his time in the majors has been his offense, and more specifically, the strikeouts. We’ve seen flashes of what his power could look like. He recorded three doubles and two triples and hit five home runs in just 37 games in 2024. He even had a two-homer game at Petco Park. But his plate discipline has negated all of it. A hitter cannot strike out more than 40% of the time and remain on a big-league roster. It’s simply unrealistic, no matter how good the defense is. McCray was over that mark in both 2024 (43.1% strikeout rate) and 2025 (42.3%). He has already struck out twice in just three at-bats this season. His numbers have looked better in Triple-A, but big-league pitching is on another level.

The Giants don’t have an everyday center fielder right now. Harrison Bader has been on the injured list since May 30, Drew Gilbert’s offensive contribution has been limited — especially against lefties — and Jonah Cox, who is also on the IL, is still a work in progress. In a perfect world, McCray fixes his offensive issues, strikes out at a respectable rate, puts the ball in play and continues to dazzle in the outfield and on the bases. Life in the majors isn’t that easy, though. McCray, now 25 years old, has been called up four times and optioned three times since 2024. But he has stayed ready and professional through it all, knowing that he would eventually get another opportunity — an opportunity not only to prove his defensive value in center field but also to display the chaos he can create with his blazing speed.

McCray's speed makes him a huge asset on the bases for Giants

Running the bases more often and more aggressively has long been a goal of the Giants. But over the last few years, they’ve consistently ranked near the bottom of the league in stolen bases. They finished last in 2023, 29th in 2024 and 29th last year, and rank 28th so far this season. That willingness to swipe more bags has finally become clearer in July, as the Giants have gone 13-for-13 on stolen-base attempts and are the only team in the majors that hasn’t been caught during that span. McCray, who has been on base just six times this season, has three of those 13 stolen bases — good enough for the fifth-most on the team. The San Diego Padres, who rank third in the league in stolen bases, have ten players with more than three steals.

Because, yes, in addition to ranking in the 99th percentile in arm strength in 2024, McCray has always been a very fast runner. Over his first three minor-league seasons, he stole 102 bags. He finished with 27 steals in 110 games at Triple-A last season. To dig deeper into the numbers, his average sprint speed of 29.6 feet per second from 2024 ranks in the top 30 in baseball. His 4.25-second home-to-first time was second only to Jung Hoo Lee’s 4.22. He’s capable of beating out an infield hit. That type of speed also creates havoc, it puts pressure on the pitcher. The Giants could really use more of that.

But remember, he needs to fix his approach at the plate. Otherwise, the coaching staff will always choose someone else, whether it be Gilbert, Cox or one of the young guys coming up. The good news for McCray is that he should have more opportunities to show that the strides he has made in Triple-A can translate to the big leagues against big-league pitching.

Cox is still on the injured list with a left oblique strain, and Bader isn’t close to returning. According to Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle, Bader is not close to starting a rehab assignment, has stopped all baseball activity and will see a foot and ankle specialist over the weekend in Indianapolis. Still, manager Tony Vitello mentioned in his pregame press conference that he thinks Bader will play again this season.

Until then, McCray needs to make his fourth call-up count. Maybe he won’t be optioned a fourth time. Guess what? Another storyline to follow.

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