Orioles Must See As Much Blaze Alexander As Possible In Final Two Weeks Of Season

It’s doubtful that the unbelievable tear that Blaze Alexander was on from late April until the All-Star break turns out be indicative of the kind of ballplayer he is.

If so, we’re talking about one of the 10 most valuable bats in MLB, with a glove that can play pretty much anywhere in the field save for catcher. We’re talking about someone who could be worthy of MVP votes and would be the kind of top-of-the-order rally starter and run producer that Gunnar Henderson was suppose to be.

That stretch was a blip, and not a precursor. But Alexander could still be more than a utility infielder and a bench guy. Perhaps much more.

Finding out everything they can about Alexander and what he looks like when getting consistent at bats is about as imperative as anything the Orioles could accomplish in the final few weeks of another lost season. If this front office had any guts or any brains they would be playing Alexander at shortstop now and doing whatever with Henderson – who is going to be dealt this winter– and really leaning into what 2027 could offer.

If nothing else, they need to continue to put him in the top of the order from here on out, and see if anything close to what he produced in the first half is sustainable. Keeping his bat in the eight hole or batting last … we’re way beyond that now. After a few rough at bats early on – to be expected coming back from a broken hand and a lengthy absence and only playing very briefly in the minors on a rehab stint (another Mike Elias specialty).

How much power Alexander has to offer remains to be seen, but wit Henderson lost and Jackson Holliday suffering mightily again and failing to produce when moved to the top of the lineup, seems as good a time as any to let Alexnader ride that out the rest of the way. Even against right-handed pitching.

Heating Up

Alexander’s ability to work walks and take pitches remains something that might end up keeping him from staying at the top of a lineup. But battling back from a 0-2 count Monday and working an 11-pitch walk with the bases loaded was a hopefully a sign of more to come.

Alexander has seven hits in his last six games, he walked twice Monday, perhaps leaning into the leadoff role. One steal and five strikeouts in that span isn’t ideal, but he is also just getting used to seeing MLB pitching again after a long layoff.

Bottom line – we need to see a lot of this guy, whether moved around to multiple positions or primarily at this base (with Coby Mayo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand the only hot power bats going right now, it’s hard to see Alexander entrenched at third). Alexander now has a .302 batting average for the season over 286 plate appearances, despite a terribly slow start and he is getting on base 36% of the time.

There isn’t much to feel good about when it comes to this lineup. Alonso cooled off, which was inevitable given his torrid pace. No one hits with any consistency in the outfield. Alexander, 27, Mayo, 24, and Encarnacion-Strand, 26, at least offer the possibility of being interesting down the stretch.

The fact they all call third base home, is so quintessentially Elias it’s staggering, but this is the kind of warped roster construction that’s been going on for years. Between first base and DH there’s a spot for Mayo (now sporting a .749 OPS and more RBIs than Henderson) and CES (31 RBIs in 43 games), and maybe at least these right-handed bats can keep smashing left-handed pitching.

If nothing else, Alexander plays with energy and intensity and bit of spirit and verve sorely lacking on this team. The fact he managed to get under the Red Sox skin at a time they swept four games without the Orioles putting up much fight, is pretty endearing. Especially against the backdrop of another total waste of a season by Elias.

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