Young SF Giants outfielder has made huge strides with improving in-zone contact

Grant McCray has struggled to make contact in his brief major league career. That said, the young SF Giants outfielder has made huge strides in improving his in-zone contact rate, albeit in a tiny sample this spring.

Young SF Giants outfielder has made huge strides with improving in-zone contact

McCray entered camp on the fringes of the competition for the fourth outfielder. Jerar Encarnación and Luis Matos are out of options, and Drew Gilbert showed better contact skills than McCray.

That said, McCray is one of the best defensive outfielders in the organization, so he has that in his favor. The Giants also added to the competition by signing Will Brennan to a split contract.

McCray was a bit lower on the depth chart, and had not shown much improvement in making contact. He had a 43.1 percent strikeout rate in 2024, compared to a 42.3 percent strikeout rate last season. Anything above 30 percent is too high and usually needs to be offset by elite power to generate offensive value.

One of the biggest culprits has been McCray’s in-zone contact rate. He has generally done a nice job at taking pitches, working the count, and staying within the strike zone in the minors. However, the left-handed bat has been a bit too prone to swinging and missing in the zone. Those are pitches where hitters need to make contact.

McCray’s career in-zone contact rate in the majors is 73.8 percent. The league average rate was 85.4 percent in 2025, so he was well below that benchmark.

In the very early going this spring, the 25-year-old hitter has cut down on the strikeouts. He has put up a .795 OPS with six walks and four strikeouts in 29 Cactus League plate appearances. This includes an 84.6 percent in-zone contact rate. 

In the context of spring training and across only 29 plate appearances, it is far too early to draw any real conclusions. Nonetheless, it is an encouraging trend and one he did not show at any point last year, including spring training.

McCray is making this is tough decision for the Giants. He, along with Will Brennan, have minor league options and that can often be disadvantageous for a player around this time of year. More than likely, the Giants will want to see this trend continue in the minors to start the year.