Thomas' Emergence at the Plate Keying D-backs Postseason Run

The Diamondbacks center fielder's improvement at the plate is one of the best underlying stories of the 2023 postseason

Alek Thomas is a world class defensive outfielder. Those that have gotten to watch him play regularly in 2022 and 2023 will tell you he is among the best they've ever seen in center field. As the Diamondbacks have advanced to the World Series, the rest of the country is catching on, as evidenced by the fact that he is one of three Gold Glove finalists. 

For those that have not watched the 23-year-old Thomas play before the 2023 postseason, they might be surprised to learn that he really struggled with the bat. Last night he laced two hits against left-hander Jordan Montgomery, a sharp line drive single and then a laser double to right center that one hopped to the wall. This kind of prowess against a left hand pitcher would have been unheard of for Thomas in the previous 18 months.  In 14 postseason games he's batting .256/.313/.558. That slash line includes four homers, none bigger than his game-tying two-run blast in Game 4 of the NLCS. His .871 postseason OPS is second on the Diamondbacks only to Ketel Marte who is just ahead of Thomas at .910

Prior to the 2023 postseason however Thomas' hitting had been an up-and-down proposition. He hit well when first called up May 8th 2022, batting .275/.338/.451 with seven doubles and six homers in his first 157 plate appearances. As has always been the case however, major league pitchers, backed by scouting and analytics departments, will find your flaws and the holes in your swing. Thomas had a big one. He tended to move his feet too much and bail out of the box early. Once teams realized this they began to exploit him with pitches down and away that he started to either swing and miss at or simply roll over to the right side.  

From June 23rd 2022 through September 25th Thomas had a miserable time at the plate. Over 254 trips to the plate he hit just .205 and walked only 10 times for an abysmal .236 on base percentage. His issues were exacerbated greatly by the handedness of the pitcher as well, as he hit just .198 against lefties in 2022. 

No matter how good his glove, he had become unplayable in the lineup, and was optioned back to Triple-A Reno for the last week of the season. Tasked with trying to rework some of his swing mechanics and footwork during the off season, he seemed to make few, if any, changes to start the year. Making the Opening Day roster, he began 2023 much like he ended 2022, continually swinging at pitches out of the zone, rolling over to the right side, and simply not hitting enough to stay in the lineup. The problems against left handed pitching got even worse too.  Through May 16th he was batting .195/.252/.327.

Optioned again to Reno following the game on May 16th, he spent a month working on things and when he came back June 19th, he was greatly improved. From June 19th through August 30th he hit .276/.311/.447 , good for a 101 wRC+, or essentially league average. He still struggled against left hand pitching however and was usually sat against southpaws.  Some of his old habits resurfaced in September however and he slumped much of the month, batting just .187 from September 1st onwards. 

Enter teammate Tommy Pham.  The veteran outfielder is known for his meticulous preparation and work ethic to get better. That can rub off on his teammates, and in this case he was able to help the struggling young Diamondbacks. 

When I got traded here, I watched him hit, and I don't know, in a span of games I watched, he was just jumping out so far to hit the ball. I started talking to the hitting coaches. I'm, like, you know, you guys got to get this guy to stay back. They were, like, you don't think we've told him? I was, like, all right, man, let me try to talk to him.

Pham explained what the differences are and what he worked with him on.

He's controlling his back side a lot better. So I started talking to him about his swing and what I thought, and I started showing him things that I felt like he could do better to make him a harder out. He really took what I said and ran with it, man, and it's been beautiful watching him continue to get better at it. He's really gotten better mechanically with his swing, and it's allowing him to pull the ball in the air better, drive the ball the other way. 

The changes may not have been immediate, Thomas, like the rest of his teammates, slumped for last four or five games of the season. But he's figured it out when it means the most. There are so many story lines for the Diamondbacks in this amazing postseason run. But few if any have more positive long term implications for the team than Thomas' improvements. Mike Hazen said he had multiple opportunities to trade Thomas for pitching in the run up to the MLB trade deadline in August. It's a good thing he resisted those offers, as the Diamondbacks are  being rewarded now for their patience with the young man.