Why Alek Thomas' Promising Start Looks Sustainable

If one were to look at Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder Alek Thomas' early season triple slash numbers they might think it's just more of the same level of performance we've see before.

Through four games he's batting .200/.250/.400, .650 OPS, 84 OPS+. Of course it's just a tiny sample size of 16 plate appearances. But there is something afoot, literally, in Thomas' swing mechanics and approach that is clearly making a difference in his quality of contact.

Thomas Made Big Changes in Spring Training

Arizona Diamondbacks Alek Thomas (5) during spring training workouts at Salt River Fields on Feb. 13, 2026, in Scottsdale. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

At the beginning of spring training, Alex D'Agostino reported that Thomas was working on greatly reducing or eliminating the big leg kick that had been his trademark and provided video to show those changes.

Thomas spoke before Monday night's home opener, explaining how the changes came about. He sat down with the coaches at the end of the season, and through that discussion it was decided he would try to get rid of the leg kick, or at least shorten it up.

Thomas was still standing a little too upright however, but after working with teammate Carlos Santana, who also has a leg kick, he learned some new drills, including working off a low tee, which forces Thomas to have to spread out more.

Thomas also described some of the other drills that Santana has helped him with.

"It's a low speed drill, trying to hit everything to the left side, no matter where the tee is located. It's just been a drill I guess he's been doing for a long time. I think he's learned it from Albert Pujols," Thomas said.

Changes Produce Immediate Spring Training Results

Thomas got off to a hot start in spring, and that carried over into his first several games playing the WBC. He was hitting the ball consistenty harder, and on a line. His average exit velocity in spring was 93.3 MPH off the bat. His hard hit rate was 43% and his barrell rate was a whopping 14.3%.

For context, MLB averages for those three batted ball metrics in 2025 were 89.4 exit velo, 41.5% hard-hit rate (balls over 95 MPH) and 8.7% barrel rate.

While all of these numbers may seem like wonky analytics to casual observers, they are actually just digitized versions of scouting info. For over a hundred years scouts were on the lookout for players that hit the ball hard and had the mechanics to consistently do so.

They had to develop the skills to identify these traits in players because they often only got to see a player in a few games. They couldn't go just by results, and instead needed to hone in on what was going on with a player under the hood, so to speak.

Thomas Sticking to the Changes in Regular Season

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Alek Thomas (5) warms up before they play the Cleveland Guardians at Salt River Fields at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale on March 1, 2026. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Circling back to Thomas's early season results, they do not fully capture his true performance. His three hits have been timely, as all three are doubles, and all three have produced RBI. Notably two of the doubles have come against left-hand pitching, a very positive sign. But it goes far beyond that.

So far Thomas has put 11 balls in play. Only one of them has been a ground ball, previously a sore spot, as his career ground ball percentage is a whopping 55%. He has seven fly balls and three line drives, but several of the fly balls are on the lower end of the fly ball launch angle spectrum.

His average exit velocity in these 11 balls in play is 95 MPH, well above league average 89. His hard-hit rate is 63%. 11 balls in play is also a very small sample size, but taken together with his spring training and WBC work, we can see a clear trend towards more consistent hard contact in the air.

Seven of Thomas' 11 balls in play have been hard hit in the air, with launch angles ranging between 10 to 24 degrees. Four of those have been outs however, despite hitting the ball on the button. They either went right at the outfielder, or the fielder made an excellent play.

Asked if it's difficult to maintain the new mechanics, or if the leg kick sometimes creeps back in, Thomas had an interesting answer.

"I feel like at this point it hasn't creeped back in. There's been some swings where I felt like it was a little bit higher than what I've been working on. Then I go look at the video and it's barely even there. It's just in my head."

Thomas understands that he must continue to work on these changes to make them stick. We've seen him try to make changes in the past and they don't seem to last. But something about this time around feels different, both visually, and from the mindset of the player.

"I think for me it's just continue to work on it and continue to make it feel like I've been doing it my whole life," Thomas said.

Looming Outfield Crunch

May 27, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks base runner Jordan Lawlar (left) celebrates with Alek Thomas after scoring against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fourth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Thomas is in a fight for playing time. In the early going he's been manning center field, and Jordan Lawlar, who is off to a hot start, is playing in left. Once Lourdes Gurriel Jr. returns from the injured list things get complicated a bit.

Expected to mostly DH during his return to play protocols, Gurriel could start to get some outfield reps at some point.

Lawlar played a lot of center in spring, and at the very least is poised to take some starts versus left-hand starters away from Thomas. And the No. 1 prospect in the organization, Ryan Waldschmidt, is knocking on the door of the major leagues as well. He plays both center and corner outfield.

But with his early season performance, Thomas is making a case to play every day, if he keeps it up. He doesn't turn 26 until April 28, and came up as one of the top prospects in the organization. Now is the time to turn that promise into results.