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Have yourself a series: Inside Alek Thomas' transition from top prospect to big leaguer

May 14, 2022

From movies that could never be as exciting as their trailers to athletes hardly being the demigods that pundits make them out to be, few things in our modern day and age live up to their hype.

Every so often, however, something is as good as advertised. After his first series as a major league centerfielder, it’s time to start believing that Arizona Diamondbacks’ top prospect Alek Thomas is exactly as good as we thought he could be.

“I feel like I belong for sure,” said Thomas before Saturday’s game against the Chicago Cubs. “It was an exciting week. I had my family here and it was good to see them and have that moment and share that with them.”

Thomas debuted this season on Mother’s Day in the final game of the D-backs three-game series with the Colorado Rockies. He went 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored. After the game, he shared an interview on the television broadcast with his mother Marella, a moment that meant a lot to Thomas.

“It was a lot of support shown by my family and my girlfriend’s family as well,” he said. “But to share that moment with my mom — someone who doesn’t get the credit that she deserves and it’s normally just me and my dad — me and mom had that special moment and I’m really thankful that we had that for sure. She means a lot.”

With the nerves of his first game and hit out of the way, Thomas was able to focus on playing baseball and not the enormity of the moment.

“For the most part, it felt like a normal game to me. And that’s what you want is to feel comfortable. I think I felt pretty comfortable these past few games.”

D-backs manager Torey Lovullo had nothing but praise about Thomas after his debut.

“My impression that I’ve had since day one with him is that he’s just a very engaging player; a very exciting player,” said Lovullo. “He can do a lot of things on the baseball field.”

In his first MLB series, Thomas proved that by going 4-for-10 with a home run, three RBIs, and three runs scored. He hit his first career major league home run in the series finale of the D-backs’ three-game set with the Miami Marlins. It was a 414-foot, opposite-field blast with an exit velocity of 103.1 MPH that astounded teammate Jordan Luplow.

“A kid driving a ball to left center for his first homer is impressive,” he said. “He’s got a good head on his shoulders, that’s for sure. He’s going to be a good ball player.”

It also earned him the silent treatment from the rest of his teammates in the dugout.

GOT HEEEEEEEEEEM!!! Congrats to Alek Thomas on his first career dinger.

pic.twitter.com/4sTGFH0BFe

— PHNX Diamondbacks (@PHNX_Dbacks) May 11, 2022

Luplow went on to echo the sentiments many within the organization have had about Thomas. “He’s a good dude,” he added. “Solid player. Good swing. Plays hard. Runs balls down in the outfield. He kind of has a little bit of everything. I think we’re only three games in with him but I’m excited to see what else we can get out of him.”

In 4 games with the #Dbacks, Alek Thomas has already accumulated 0.5 WAR.

5 for 13
2 doubles, 1 HR, 3 RBI
.385/.385/.769
1.154 OPS
70% hard hit %
87th % sprint speed

— D-backs facts & stats (@dbaxfax) May 12, 2022

Four games into his major league career, No. 18 on MLB’s list of the top 100 prospects is slashing .385/.385/.769 with a 1.154 OPS. He has done it all with an incredible head of lettuce under his cap and an off-balance swing that doesn’t look like it should be nearly as effective as it has been. Lovullo knows that his young star still has some steps to take but he has been pleased with his progress thus far.

“He’s young, he’s learning, but when you see him square up a baseball and hit it 390 feet the opposite way, you know that you’ve got a very sound swing,” Lovullo said. “So he’s in a good spot right now. He needs to keep working, keep getting after it, and keep making improvements day by day. He’s a very exciting player.”

From the mound, pitcher Merrill Kelly has noticed Thomas’ maturity and his ability to have an impact on baseball games.

“I know he’s young, but he carries himself really well,” said Kelly. “All the feedback from talking to the hitters on the kind of conversations they’ve had with him, seems like he’s pretty far above his age. He walks around like he knows he’s good but does it in a way that’s solid. Obviously, watching him at the plate, the ball jumps off his bat pretty good, so I think everybody’s excited to have him here.”

Thomas has been absolutely tearing the cover off the ball. He hit four balls in his debut series with exit velocities over 103 MPH. His approaches at the plate against Marlins flame-thrower Sandy Alcantara looked more like a player who has been in the league for four years instead of four days.

Alek Thomas is hitting .300 with a .800 OPS. His exit velocity has hit 107.8 MPH, 97.9 MPH, and 95.2 MPH tonight. #Dbacks

— PHNX Diamondbacks (@PHNX_Dbacks) May 11, 2022

He has adapted quickly to playing a difficult center field at Chase Field and has done an outstanding job defensively in a small sample. His maturity and demeanor seem to be his most appealing traits to his manager.

“That’s the thing that impresses me most,” Lovullo said. “He’s one cool customer. He doesn’t have any nervousness to his game from just looking at him, but I’m sure there are emotions there finally calming down. But he’s played football at a big time program. He’s been grinding through the minor leagues. He’s one of our finest prospects so he understands pressure and getting here shouldn’t be any different. He wants to go out and perform because he wants to be a good baseball player.”

Lovullo and the D-backs seem to have a different philosophy for players earning opportunities this season. With Carson Kelly on the injured list with an oblique injury for an undetermined amount of time, Thomas has a good chance of remaining on the big league squad as long as he continues to contribute in a meaningful way to this team’s surprising success.

Follow Derek Montilla on Twitter