His late-blooming luck continued last fall, as he neared the end of his college career, when he was spotted by a scout for the Royals at one of Marist’s open practices. After a series of follow-ups, it was clear that the Royals were interested, and his hard work had paid off.

For the past two weeks, McCarthy has been training at a mini-camp run by the Royals’ minor league rookie team, the Arizona League Royals, in Surprise, Ariz. There the workouts proved much tougher than they were in college.

“It’s definitely a little quicker,” he said. “They expect you to know more, so they don’t spend too much attention to detail. I mean, you feel a little bit like a freshman, but all the guys are great. They have the utmost respect for each player coming in, and they really make you feel at home.”

A lifelong Mets fan, McCarthy always hoped to play for his hometown team. But when asked about that possibility, he offered a more media-savvy answer. “I’m probably gonna say a different team [is my favorite] from now on,” he laughed. “It’s kind of hard not to when they value you so much.”

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