Alek Thomas, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
Introduction
A 2nd-round pick back in 2018, Alek Thomas is now one of the Diamondbacks’ top prospects. But he’s only played as high as A-ball, so what do we see in Mr. Thomas’ skills?
Meet Alek
Born: April 28, 2000
B/T: Left/Left
5'11", 175-lbs
Drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2nd round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft from Mount Carmel HS (Chicago, IL).
The Numbers
His raw numbers are listed above courtesy of baseball-reference.com. Let’s aggregate by level and then focus on the important numbers for minor leaguers:
Looking at the above, we see so much blue and green it becomes aesthetically pleasing.
Nothing wrong with his OBP approach. In particular note how his walks at the Rookie ball level were not far off from his strikeouts. When you see an 18-year-old showing a good batting eye in his first taste of professional ball, you have a good prospect on your hands. The power leaves a bit to be desired, as his ISO improved to .150, but is still not where you want it to be. Certainly we see that in his weak Hard% number. But he has some speed, he draws walks, and he doesn’t strike out too often. As a teenager, that’s not bad.
Funny splits here. He hit righties great in A-ball, but not lefties. Then he goes to Class A Advanced and does the exact opposite! Uh huh. Got it, nothing to prove here.
Nice. He hits the ball all over the place, and gets home runs to the opposite field even if most of them are pulled. He’s hitting doubles to the gaps all over the field, and that gives us hope for future power as he enters his 20s.
Probably not too much power given his body type though. At 5'11" and weighing 175 lbs., Thomas will probably only produce average power at maturity. On the other hand, he is the son of the White Sox’s conditioning coach, so if any dad can help a son develop power, it’s going to be Allan Thomas.
Fairly typical OPS trend. Fiddles around with Rookie ball. Next year gets to A ball, struggles a bit, the light goes on, then summer takes its toll. Moves to High-A and the summer just won’t end for the guy. Hey, he was 19, we can understand. How good were you at your first summer job as a teen?
The Scouts
- Rotowire: #59 (of the Top 400 prospects), the 17th-best prospect outfielder.
- BaseballHQ: #61 on their Top 100.
- Fangraphs: #70 on their Top 120, a 50 future value prospect.
- Prospects1500: #5 on the Diamondbacks prospects list, a Tier 2 guy.
- Fantasy Six Pack: #157 on their Top 750 Dynasty list.
- Prospects365: #66 of Ray Butler’s Top 200.
- Imaginary Brick Wall: #45 of the Top 487.
Warnings
I don’t see any truly plus skills other than maybe speed. The power needs to develop, and I trust it will, but we have to see it first.
Can he handle Double-A? That will tell us a lot. Does his high-OBP carry over there, or will higher levels figure him out?
Conclusion
I like Alek Thomas (full disclosure: I own him on my main dynasty team). I think he will become a solid regular major leaguer, a corner outfielder who will put up a some power, a bit more speed, and lots of getting on base. This is not a superstar profile, but baseball has a lot of small stars, and I think he will put up a few star years before he’s done.
