Torey Lovullo on D-backs' Star Outfielder: "He's a Freak"

It's no secret what Arizona Diamondbacks star young outfielder Corbin Carroll went through in 2024. His early-season slump was one of the most frustrating and confusing times for D-backs fans and Carroll himself.

But to Torey Lovullo, 2024 tells a bigger story about who Carroll is as a player and competitor.

Lovullo spoke to reporters, including Diamondbacks On SI's Jack Sommers, about Carroll's resilience, and what the slump meant for the star outfielder.

“I think every young player, I think every player at the big league level, has moments in time in their career where they experience that failure and become extremely motivated. They're all motivated. They should be motivated. That's their job," Lovullo said.

“But you're motivated to never let something like that happen again. And you know that hot road that you go down. ... It's very tempting. You go there and it doesn't work.

“You just sense where it is now. And when you're going into that space, you veer off to the right road. And it just comes with experience. I'm glad that he went through it early in his career."

Lovullo said he had a conversation with MLB great and former Diamondbacks third baseman Evan Longoria about Carroll's experience, in an attempt to mine some information to help Carroll crawl out of his early hole last season.

“I was asking him about some of his experiences because we were trying to do everything we could from a mental standpoint to help out Corbin, and fundamentally as well.

"Evan Longoria said to me, he said, there's just years where you go out there and things don't feel right. And you learn to adapt and learn to get through that.

"And [Longoria] had years where [he] hit .230 but had productive moments and helped the team win. And I think he passed that along to Corbin. And Corbin ended up having a really solid year despite some very rugged circumstances,” the skipper continued.

And it did end up becoming a very productive season for the 24-year-old. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a struggle to get to that point. Lovullo said Carroll never truly wavered in the face of his frustration.

"I could tell when he walked into the ballpark how frustrated he was. And we've all been there where nothing works and you want to cry, right? He never got to that point. He was a true young man that went out there and learned, trusted his coaching, and figured it out on the fly.

"He's incredibly strong from a mental standpoint," said Lovullo. "Physically, we see what he's capable of doing. He's a freak. But I think he learned a lot about himself. And what I saw was a young man that was very consistent.

"I was really proud of what he went through last year and the way he did it."

And it certainly did end up being a productive year for Carroll. Despite hitting .192/.278/.279 as late as June 5, and struggling to stay more than 10 points above the Mendoza Line, Carroll finished his season with a much more respectable .231./322/.428 slash.

In the second half, Carroll was a true weapon. He hit .258/.351/.568 with 17 home runs good for a .919 OPS and 147 wRC+ post-All-Star break.

Our projections expect a productive, bounce-back year for the young outfielder. But considering the rate at which Carroll produced offensively after his slump last year, he could be in line for an even more massive 2025 campaign.

Torey Lovullo on D-backs' Star Outfielder: "He's a Freak"

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