Prospect Profile: Alek Thomas

It’s that time of year on the minor league calendar where we begin to see organization’s top prospects promoted closer to the majors. For the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Reno Aces, that prospect is outfielder Alek Thomas.

Thomas, an outfielder from Mount Carmel HS in Chicago, Ill., was the Diamondbacks second round choice in the 2018 MLB Draft. The same draft that saw the Houston Astros take eventual Aces’ first baseman, Seth Beer, in the first round.

Coming out of high school, Thomas was seen as an advanced hitter with the ability to hit line drives all over the field who could use his speed to take an extra base and develop into one of the best outfield defenders in the organization.

According to the 20-80 scale used by scouts, Thomas grades out as a 60 hitter, runner and defender, meaning he is “plus” in all of those categories.

At this point in Thomas’ development, he isn’t going to hit for a lot of power. Thomas will provide a lot of doubles and triples power, but according to Baseball America, “he has a chance to grow into double-digit home run power.”

With his three plus tools, Thomas has been able to move through the Diamondbacks system quickly. As just a 19-year-old in 2019, Thomas made his way up to High-A Visalia after playing most of his season at Single-A Kane County. Despite being just 19 as those two levels, he showed his advanced approach at the plate.

In 114 games, Thomas hit for a triple slash line of .300/.379/.450 with an OPS of .829. He showed off that extra-base hit power, smashing 23 doubles and 7 triples. However, he was able to hit that double-digit home run threshold, smacking 10 home runs as well as driving in 55 runs. He also stole a career high 15 bases in 2019.

Not only did he put up good numbers for someone his age, he came out of 2019 decorated with awards. He earned a Midwest League player of the week as well as Midwest League Mid and Post-Season All-Star selections. He was named a Baseball America Low Class-A All Star and an MiLB.com Organization All-Star for his season with Kane County, while also being selected to his first of two Futures Games.

After his stellar 2019, he spent the 2020 season at the Diamondbacks Alternate Training Site as there was no minor league season. With no numbers available, there’s no way to gauge how well Thomas hit at the Alt Site. However, according to Baseball America, he “held his own against upper level pitching,” and MLB Pipeline notes that he “showed improvements against southpaws in 2020.”

He began the 2021 season with Double-A Amarillo, where he continued to show his advanced bat as a 21-year-old. In his 72 games, he slashed .283/.374/.507 with a .881 OPS. He improved his power numbers, hitting 10 home runs in those 72 games while driving in 41 runs. After continuing to rake through all levels of the minors, he earned his second Futures Game selection and a promotion to Triple-A Reno.

With Thomas, you can expect to see a lot of the same results that he has shown in the lower levels of the minors. He’ll hit a lot of doubles and triples with the occasional home run and steal bases, all from a high spot in the order. Look for him to get playing time at each outfield position, primarily center field, where he’ll provide stellar defense, using that 60 grade speed and defense.

Reno has seen a lot of the Diamondbacks’ top prospects make their way to Greater Nevada Field in 2021, and Thomas may well be the most exciting one yet.