Arizona Diamondbacks 2024 Player Review: Alek Thomas

The young outfielder endured an injury-plagued season before being sent to Triple-A

Jul 13, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll (7) bumps chests with Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Alek Thomas (5) after hitting a two run home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the eighth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

This article is part of a series chronicling the individual seasons of players who appeared for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024.

Reviews for players that still have rookie eligibility for 2025 will appear in our prospect season reviews. Players are presented in the reverse order of their aWAR, an average of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs WAR.

Alek Thomas, Centerfielder, Age: 24

2024 Contract Status: Pre-Arbitration, $769.500

Arizona Diamondbacks centerfielder Alek Thomas 2024 and career stats / Jake Oliver

Alek Thomas was drafted in the 2nd Round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks out of high school in Chicago. After a standout postseason in 2023, Thomas endured the worst season of his career with multiple long-term injuries and a slump that sent him to Triple-A.

The left-handed batter started the season off similar to where he left off from the postseason with three hits in his first two games including a two-run homer,

However, in the fourth game of the season, Thomas would pull his hamstring in his left leg running to first base, setting the tone for what would end up being mostly a lost season for him.

He missed a month before attempting to come back for a rehab assignment on May 3rd but came back too soon. This caused him to miss another month or so of games before he started a new rehab assignment on June 13th.

From there, he spent nearly a month until July 2nd before getting activated onto the Active Roster and deemed ready to resume full-time duties in centerfield.

Over the next 33 games he played in and 22 starts, Thomas slumped badly as Jake McCarthy caught fire and began to take playing time.

Over this stretch, Thomas hit just .188 and slugged only .338 for a .590 OPS. He had 15 hits, four doubles, a triple, and a homer to go with 13 RBI, seven walks, and 14 strikeouts. Too often, he would hit the ball on the ground, often to second base.

With McCarthy doing well and Thomas not playing much aside from late-game defensive showings, the D-backs optioned him to Triple-A on August 14th.

Unfortunately for Thomas, six days later, he would end up on the Minor League 7-Day IL with an oblique strain. It was rough timing as a big stretch over the next week or so could've gotten Thomas back on the active roster once rosters expanded on September 1.

He was activated from the IL on September 17th and finished the Triple-A season before being recalled on September 26th. He got into two more games to end the season with one at-bat and being a defensive replacement or pinch-runner.

With the season ended, Thomas got into 39 MLB games and had a 65 wRC+ with 100 being the league average. He struck out at a strong average of 16.5% of the time while walking below-average 6.2% of the time.

There is some hope for him to do better next year as his BABIP was a very low .200 but that was also due in part because of his penchant to hit ground balls to the left side.

Overall, he had three home runs, 17 RBI, five doubles, a triple, and four stolen bases.

With the Reno Aces, Thomas played in 16 games and hit .286/.333/.444/.778 with four doubles, two homers, 12 RBI, and 18 hits.

2025 and Beyond

Alek Thomas is still under control through 2028 with the Diamondbacks and he still has one more season to go before he reaches arbitration. In 2025, he will make close to the league minimum for however long he is in the Majors.

Should he spend extended time in the minors, he could see 2026 be another pre-arbitration year added to his control before reaching the three years of arbitration.

He will enter Spring Training next year in a battle for a roster spot with Jake McCarthy for the starting centerfielder job and for a roster spot in general with any other outfielders the team adds over the off-season.

There remains plenty of raw potential, with Gold Glove-caliber defense, good speed, and plenty of power if he can develop his swing. It will be up to Thomas to realize it and earn his spot, however, he's still a long-term member of the Arizona Diamondbacks at this point.

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