Alek Thomas

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Alek Thomas

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Biographical Information[edit]

Outfielder Alek Thomas was a 2nd-round pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2018 amateur draft. A former member of the United States junior national baseball team, he took part in the 2017 U-18 Baseball World Cup in Thunder Bay, ON, where he was named to the tournament All-Star team.

He began his pro career in 2018 with the AZL Diamondbacks, then after 28 games was promoted to the Missoula Osprey of the Pioneer League. Combined, he hit .333/.395/.463 in 56 games, during which he scored 50 runs. he continued to do well at the start of the 2019 season, with the Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League. There he hit .312 in 91 games and was selected to play in the 2019 Futures Game before getting a promotion to the Visalia Rawhide of the California League. His bat slowed down a bit there, as he hit .255 in 23 games, but he still finished at .300/.379/.450 in 114 games, with 76 runs, 23 doubles, 7 triples and 10 homers. he was named both a mid-season and a postseason All-Star in the Midwest League.

He was named the Diamondbacks' Minor League Player of the Year in 2021, after being forced to spend all of 2020 at the team's alternate training site because the minor leagues were shut down by the Coronavirus pandemic. Splitting the year between the AA Amarillo Sod Poodles and AAA Reno Aces, he batted .313/.394/.559 in 106 games, with 86 runs, 29 doubles, 12 triples, 18 homers and 59 RBIs. There was talk of him starting the 2022 in the majors, but he began the year back with Reno, where hit .277 with 4 homers and 14 RBIs in his first 24 games. He was called up to Arizona to start in centerfield against the Colorado Rockies on May 8th. Batting 8th, he went 1 for 3 with a run scored in a 4-0 win, his first major league hit being a double off German Marquez to lead off the 5th inning. He later came in to score on a wild pick-off attempt by Marquez. In 113 games in his rookie season, he hit .231 with 8 homers and 39 RBIs. He put up eerily similar numbers in his sophomore season in 2023, hitting .230 with 9 homers and 39 RBIs in 125 games. Both seasons, he had 86 hits, and his OBPs were .274 and .273, and his OPS+ 75 both years. In between the two seasons, he had played for the Mexican national team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The major difference was that the D-Backs made it into the postseason the second year. In Game 1 of the Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on October 7th, he had a remarkable at-bat in the 7th inning against Michael Grove: he saw 14 pitches, hitting ten consecutive foul balls, before homering to deep right field. The homer had little consequence on the final score - the D-Backs had held a comfortable lead since scoring six runs against Clayton Kershaw in the 1st inning - but that at-bat was still one of the highlights of the win.

Further Reading[edit]

  • AJ Cassavell: "How many pitches?? Thomas makes history with well-earned homer", mlb.com, October 8, 2023. [1]
  • Martín Gallegos: "How MLB Develops impacted Thomas' journey to World Series: D-backs outfielder came up in White Sox ACE program, surrounded by star power", mlb.com, October 26, 2023. [2]
  • Steve Gilbert: "Top prospect Thomas looks to keep rolling at plate after late-season surge", mlb.com, February 24, 2022. [3]

Related Sites[edit]

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