Jorge Barrosa Shares How It Feels to Be a Major Leaguer

The centerfield prospect was called up for the first time on Monday

Apr 1, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Jorge Barrosa against the New / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Jorge Barrosa is the Diamondbacks No.12 prospect and was called up before their game against the New York Yankees on April 1st, 2024. He was called up to replace Alek Thomas on the active roster. Thomas went to the 10-day Injured List due to a tweaked left hamstring. Barrosa was able to make his MLB debut Monday night when he pinch-hit for Jake McCarthy in the 9th inning. Barrosa laced a line drive to the left-field gap for a ground-rule double that proved to be his first career hit. While the D-backs ultimately lost, it was a great scene for him to showcase what he can do with the bat in his hand.

First MLB at bat for Jorge Barrosa is a ground rule double pic.twitter.com/WU3qtQ2OxB

— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) April 2, 2024

Last year, the 23-year-old slashed .274/.394/.456 with 65 RBIs, 80 walks and 82 strikeouts. He hit 20 doubles, eight triples and 13 homers. This was over 120 games. The big factor for him is his eye at the plate as he rarely strikes out and walks a ton. His on-base ability with his elite speed makes for a good combination that the D-backs will look to take advantage of. He does all of this despite being only 5'5 and proves once again that size doesn't matter in the Big Leagues.

Alek Thomas has paid close attention to Barrosa and considers him to be a very close friend or brother and is nothing but happy to see him make his MLB debut. "He can go get it in centerfield. He can do whatever on the basepaths. I played with him a little bit in Reno. I can see that there's definitely something special about him. I'm excited for him. He's like a little brother to me so it's going to be really cool to see him play."

Barrosa returns the love for Thomas, saying "He's one of my favorite players to watch. I feel bad but at same time, I feel great because I'm here. I'm grateful but he's my man. He's my guy. I love that guy. He's a pretty good person and pretty good player."

Lovullo had high praise for Barrosa, with big expectations, saying "He carries a very competitive streak. He's a very good baseball player. He's got a great heart. Great ability on both sides of the ball. He's going to help us win some baseball games. We're excited to have him. He's well above average as a defender. I'll go on the record as saying that. He fearlessly practices his craft..I think that translates. He's known as a very good defender but he's a pretty good hitter as well. I don't want to undersell that side of it. We feel very good about his ability to run things out. He'll get some chances out in centerfield as well."

Barrosa prides himself on his defense. He practices constantly on his routes and footwork, stating "Oh yeah, I do it every day. Every time, I power shag. I shag and try to run after balls and with McKay here, one of the best in the game. I feel like that's a big part of my game."

However, ultimately his advice to Barrosa was just to "be prepared...have fun, be yourself." Lovullo did make sure to mention that Barrosa smells delicious and is very comfortable in his own skin, " He's a very comfortable person, he's a very comfortable player. He came into my office and smelled delicious. I have his cologne all over me still."

Barrosa flew in Sunday night and had to wait through the night to find out whether or not he was going to get added to the active roster. That night turned out to be quite a sleepless night. "It was tough. It was a tough night. I was checking my phone all the time. I really couldn't sleep. It was exciting. I don't know the emotions of what I feel but it was great."

Barrosa made sure that he let his family know as soon as he knew he was getting the call, ""It was my wife and then I called my mom right away. You can't imagine, it was crazy."

Barrosa is focused on just doing whatever he can to help the D-backs win whether that's pinch-running or playing an entire game. On what he considers a successful outing to be, it would be "If I do something small to help the team win, I'm going to be happy. Every day, that's what you're looking for. Help the team to win."

While Barrosa has improved quite a bit on his ability to play in the field, it's not the area that he's been most focused on improving or growing. It would be something that often goes unchecked by baseball players and that's the mental side. That's the aspect that he's felt he has undergone the biggest change for improvement in.

"Of course, you got the talent but you always got to be focused more. I would say put more on the work and not focus on the results. You're always working and the result is going to come."

Barrosa was apart of the backup squad for the 2023 D-backs roster as they played in the playoffs. While he wasn't actually a part of the team, he traveled with them, sat in the dugout, and had to be ready on a moment's notice in case there was an injury and he had to be called up. Barrosa learned a lot from that from being around the guys and seeing how Major League ballgames work. The experience will last forever though as a cherished memory.

"It was crazy. Probably similar to this, what I'm feeling right now. Probably the same there in the postseason. I just got the news and next day, I was in Milwaukee and it's something you don't expect but it's like things happen quick and you just got to enjoy."