The Diamondbacks will work on fixing Thomas' swing while he's in the minors, Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic reports. Thomas was demoted to Triple-A Reno on Wednesday.
Specifically, the organization is focused on excessive movement in the lower half of his body, which can lead to groundballs rolled over to the right side of the infield. There's also been an issue identifying strikes on outer half of the plate. "There's a lot of excessive movement with the lower half which is creating some force moving forward," said manager Torey Lovullo. "I know to impact the baseball but I feel like it was changing his sightlines." In addition to work at the plate, Lovullo identified areas in the field that Thomas needs to address, like routes taken on batted balls and taking the proper angle. Dominic Fletcher will take over in the outfield while Thomas works at Reno.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Demoted to minors
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Arizona optioned Thomas to Triple-A Reno on Wednesday.
The writing seemed to be on the wall for Thomas' demotion while he had begun to lose out on playing time against right-handed pitchers lately. The 23-year-old could use a reset, as he's managed just a .195/.252/.327 batting line with two home runs in his first 39 games this season. Dominic Fletcher has displaced him as Arizona's primary center fielder.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Sitting against right-hander
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Thomas is out of the lineup Sunday against the Marlins.
For the second time in three games, Thomas is on the bench against a right-hander (Logan Webb). The 23-year-old looks like he could be on the outs for a full-time role in the Arizona outfield, at least for as long as red-hot rookie Dominic Fletcher continues to sizzle at the plate. Fletcher has posted a monstrous 1.232 OPS since his April 30 call-up from Triple-A Reno, while Thomas has supplied a .567 OPS during that same two-week stretch.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Losing at-bats
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Thomas will start against right-handers and be out of the lineup against lefties going forward, Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic reports.
This is an alteration the Diamondbacks introduced over the last week, but it was uncertain how long it would last. Thomas is a prized prospect but is struggling with pitches on the outer half of the plate, and now he must contend with the suddenly hot Dominic Fletcher, an under-the-radar prospect who was called up to help fill in when Corbin Carroll injured his knee two weeks ago. Carroll is back and Fletcher is in the midst of a career-enhancing series against the Giants, going 8-for-12 with a double, a triple, two home runs and 11 RBI. Lourdes Gurriel typically starts against lefties, but his starts will now come at the expense of Thomas instead of Fletcher.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Returns to starting lineup
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Thomas started in center field and went 0-for-2 with an RBI in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Marlins.
Thomas made his first start since Saturday, a stretch that included one righty and two lefty opposing starters. He was eventually removed for a pinch hitter in the sixth inning against lefty reliever Tanner Scott. The outfielder is 1-for-33 (.030) against southpaws, and it appears to be costing him at-bats. His underlying numbers suggest bad luck, but he's noticed pitchers are attacking a weakness, balls on the outside part of the plate, per Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic. "That's all they're doing is painting away, painting away," Thomas said. "It's probably a good idea. If they bring it somewhere in the zone, I feel like I'll be able to hit it." Overall this season, Thomas is slashing .196/.259/.333 over 112 plate appearances.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Out of lineup versus lefty
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Thomas remains out of the lineup Tuesday against the Marlins.
Thomas hasn't appeared in the Diamondbacks' starting lineup since Saturday and he will take a seat again Tuesday with left-hander Jesus Luzardo toeing the slab for Miami. Thomas has tallied only one hit -- a single -- in 34 plate appearances this year versus southpaws.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Absent from lineup again
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Thomas is not in the Diamondbacks' lineup for Monday's game versus the Marlins.
It's the second straight game on the bench for Thomas, with one of them coming against a righty and now this one versus a lefty. Corbin Carroll will play center field and Dominic Fletcher will be in left.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Not in Sunday's lineup
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Thomas is out of the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Nationals.
Thomas started the past 16 games and will receive Sunday off after he posted a .592 OPS and 33.3 percent strikeout rate during that stretch. Dominic Fletcher will take over in center field and bat seventh.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Steals base in win
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Thomas went 0-for-5 with a stolen base in Wednesday's 12-7 win over the Rangers.
Thomas stole a bag during Arizona's five-run seventh inning, his third theft in four attempts through 29 games. It's been rough going for the second-year outfielder, whose average dipped to .176. For those employing Thomas in fantasy lineups, the silver lining is that his expected average (.253) indicates bad luck, backed up by a .209 BABIP.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Homers in loss
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Thomas went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 7-5 loss to the Padres.
Thomas belted the second of back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning, giving him two for the season. The results are not there early on for Thomas, who is batting .188 with a .200 BABIP, despite Statcast indicating an expected average of .291.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Goes deep in loss
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Thomas went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 14-5 loss to the Cardinals.
Thomas helped erase an early 3-0 deficit with a second-inning homer, his first of the season. The young outfielder has hit safely in just five of 15 starts and is batting .176 through 17 appearances overall. The Diamondbacks appeared this spring to be committed to Thomas, who played 113 games in the majors last season, but his role could diminish given the promising start of Pavin Smith, another lefty batter, who is hitting .381 start since being called up from Triple-A Reno. It helps Thomas that Jake McCarthy (.154) is also underwhelming, and the latter could be first in line to lose a prominent role in the outfield.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Added to lineup Tuesday
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Thomas was added to the starting lineup Tuesday against the Cardinals.
Thomas will start in center field and bat ninth versus the Cardinals and left-hander Jordan Montgomery. He's taking the place of Corbin Carroll, who has been scratched.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Sitting against lefty
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Thomas is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Cardinals.
Corbin Carroll is in center field and batting sixth with left-hander Jordan Montgomery on the mound for the host Cardinals. Jake McCarthy will cover right field and hit ninth. Thomas has slashed just .186/.271/.279 through 48 total plate appearances on the year.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Sitting against lefty
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Thomas is not in the lineup Saturday against the Marlins.
Lourdes Gurriel will start in left field, Corbin Carroll will cover center and Jake McCarthy is in right with left-hander Braxton Garrett on the mound for Miami. Thomas has slashed just .184/.262/.289 with zero home runs and two stolen bases through 13 games this season.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Busting out
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Thomas went 1-for-5 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base in Sunday's 11-6 win over the Dodgers.
Thomas, who went hitless in his first 16 at-bats, had a nice weekend against Los Angeles, going 5-for-9 with a triple, two RBI, three runs scored and his second steal of the season. The outfielder had been the victim of bad luck (.217 BABIP) and ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity (95.6 MPH). As such, a breakout was expected for Thomas, who's batting .200 with an expected average of .342.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Sitting out Monday
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Thomas is not in the Diamondbacks' lineup for Monday's game in San Diego.
Thomas has now been on the bench for two of his team's three games versus left-handers so far this season. He's also hitless in nine plate appearances, which isn't helping his bid for playing time. Corbin Carroll will slide over to center field Monday, with Lourdes Gurriel playing left and Kyle Lewis being used in the designated hitter spot.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Faces lefty
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Thomas started in center field and went 0-for-3 in Saturday's 10-1 loss to the Dodgers.
Thomas took the field against Los Angeles' Clayton Kershaw on Saturday, getting his first plate appearances against a southpaw. He was held out of the Opening Day lineup against a lefty, then was pinch-hit for Friday against a lefty reliever. It appears manager Torey Lovullo will remove one of his left-handed hitting outfielders against lefty starters, and it was Jake McCarthy's turn Saturday. Thomas is 0-for-5 through two games played.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Removed for pinch hitter
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Thomas started in center field and went 0-for-2 in Friday's 2-1 win over the Dodgers.
Thomas, who was on the bench against a lefty in Thursday's opener, made his first start of the season with Los Angeles righty Dustin May on the bump. Following May's strong seven innings, lefty Alex Vesia entered, and Diamondbacks manager removed Thomas for a right-handed pinch hitter (Nick Ahmed). Thomas had a .471 OPS against southpaws in 2022, so sitting against lefties may become the norm if he can't improve on that mark.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Sits out opener
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Thomas did not play in Arizona's season-opening 8-2 loss to the Dodgers.
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo's Opening Day lineup included a few surprises, in terms of where players batted and who wasn't in the starting nine. The lefty-swinging Thomas was on the bench against Los Angeles southpaw Julio Urias, as Corbin Carroll moved from left field to center. The lineup had a right-handed tilt as both Kyle Lewis and Lourdes Gurriel were in the starting nine at DH and in left field, respectively. Lovullo has always been a proponent of exploiting platoon splits, but leaving Thomas out of the lineup entirely was still a surprise.
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Diamondbacks' Alek Thomas: Drives in three runs
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Thomas went 1-for-2 2 with a triple, a sacrifice fly and three RBI in Sunday's spring game against the Guardians.
Thomas is raking through six Cactus League outings, going 6-for-19 with three extra-base hits and eight RBI. Thomas is racking up the plate appearances ahead of his participation in the World Baseball Classic. When he returns to MLB, Thomas will be Arizona's Opening Day starter in center field.
