Alek Thomas' Struggles Opening Door for a Ryan Waldschmidt Call-Up

Could the Diamondbacks be considering a change sooner rather than later?

Mar 10, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of the jersey of Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt (21) against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

As Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Jorge Barrosa raced in to make a terrific running grab of Alex Bregman's popup, the contrast between his play and that a day earlier from Alek Thomas could not be any greater.

Thomas had hesitated and pulled up short on a ball off the bat of Carson Kelly on Friday, allowing it to drop despite being a ball he clearly should have caught.

Contrast Between Alek Thomas and Jorge Barrosa Plays https://t.co/Fzh6GLR9Sr #MLBFilmRoom via @MLB

— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) May 2, 2026

There was much consternation from manager Torey Lovullo following the Thomas misplay. He shouted at the outfielder and the rest of his teammates as they came back into the dugout, telling them to "WAKE UP".

Lovullo went on to make some very pointed comments in his postgame press conference Friday.

Coupled with the effusive praise for Barrosa from the broadcast booth of Steve Berthiaume and Tom Candiotti, it gave the impression that there has been a shift in player perceptions, and perhaps even future roles.

Is Alek Thomas Near End of His Time as Starting Center Fielder?

Apr 19, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Alek Thomas against the Toronto Blue Jays at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The D-backs began the year with a platoon in center of Thomas starting against right-hand pitchers and Jordan Lawlar against lefties. The Lawlar side of the platoon was working out great, until he suffered a fractured wrist on a hit-by-pitch. In six games he was batting 6-for-18, .333 with a double and a homer. Lawlar is on the 60-day IL and not eligible to return until early June.

Thomas, sporting new hitting mechanics and a reduced leg kick, had a good spring and WBC. After a decent first week, the changes have not carried over to the regular season. He's batting just .184 with a .220 OBP and .345 slugging percentage. His OPS ranks 190th out of 212 batters with 90 or more PA in MLB.

Despite the play on Friday, his defense is still rated above average by fielding metrics. But his low level of offense is wiping out any defensive value he may bring, and then some.

Unfortunately the 26-year-old Thomas now has 1,477 PA and a career .635 OPS, or 75 OPS+, meaning he has been roughly 25% below average for his career. His current 54 OPS+ is even worse.

Barrosa, meanwhile, has been somewhat better this year, at least on the surface. He's batting .209/.254/.418, .672 OPS. His defense appears to be just as good as Thomas, and he has a much stronger arm. But there are legitimate concerns Barrosa would be exposed with everyday play.

His slugging and OPS are propped up with some good fortune with extra base hits. Per Statcast, his expected batting average, which is based on batted-ball quality combined with actual walks and strikeouts, is just .180 and the xSlug is merely .278.

Barrosa is a fine fourth outfielder, but he probably shouldn't start every day.

Is it Time for Ryan Waldschmidt?

Mar 10, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Diamondbacks may have an answer at the ready in Triple-A Reno. Their top rated prospect, Ryan Waldschmidt, has been playing center field almost every day, and by most reports has handled the position well defensively.

In 140 plate appearances, Waldschmidt is batting .293/.396/.491, .887 OPS, including three homers and 19 RBI. On the surface, it may seem like a no-brainer to bring Waldschmidt up right away. But there are some significant caveats here.

1.) Reno Environment

The scoring and batting environment in the PCL is supercharged to begin with, while Reno sitting at 4,500 feet elevation exacerbates that a great deal. Waldschmidt's park- and league-adjusted wRC+ is just 118. That's certainly above average, but not outstanding.

2.) Expected Metrics Much Worse than Actual

Waldschmidt is also striking out over 24% of the time, and that number is likely to be a good deal higher in MLB. Furthermore, his batted ball metrics, such as average exit velocity, hard hit rate, etc, do not support his batting line at all.

He has just a .314 Expected wOBA (xwOBA) compared to a .390 wOBA. wOBA is an all encompassing offensive metric taking all batting events into account, and set to the scale of OBP. Waldschmidt's xWOBA ranks just 56th out of 87 PCL batters with 75 or more PA

3.) Roster Management and Service Time

On the one hand, Waldschmidt appears to need some more time to work out a few things in Triple-A. That would probably be best for his development. On the other hand, it's hard to argue there isn't at least a decent chance he would be considerably better than Thomas, or Barrosa for that matter, despite some likely adjustment period needed.

But if Waldschmidt is called up, then he needs to play at least five games a week. It would be unwise to bring him up to MLB and limit him to just a couple games per week.

If the D-backs bring him up now, what do they do when Lawlar returns in early-mid June? He needs to play almost every day as well.

Finally, there is Super 2 status to consider. If Waldschmidt were to come up now, and stay on the roster all year, he'll be eligible for four years of arbitration instead instead of three. This could potentially cost the D-backs millions of dollars.

While this probably is (and should be) less of a consideration, it would be naive to think it's not a factor at all.

All caveats for Waldschmidt aside, the D-backs appear to be losing patience with Thomas, so a change may be happening very soon. At the very least, he has been put on warning. That much is clear.

Thomas is in his last option year, so he can be sent to Reno, which the team has done a few times before. It's hard to see how that will make much difference in helping him improve this time around however.