Wilder Dalis (No. 24 PuRP) was signed by the Colorado Rockies in May 2023, well after the big signing period that usually happens in January, and has been an under-the-radar prospect since. 

Baseball America described him as a “late bloomer” who “turned in an inauspicious pro debut,” but Dalis turned things on in 2025 when he made his stateside debut – slashing .352/.440/.525 in 56 games in the Arizona Complex League followed by .241/.333/.379 in 31 games in Low-A Fresno. 

Ahead of the 2026 season, Brendan Gawlowski of FangGraphs wrote, “Dalis stood out in a positive way. He’s a good athlete with a chance to stick at short… it’s early, but the arrow looks up here.”

Dalis grew up in Maracay, Venezuela, as an only child where he lived with his mother and aunt. He started playing baseball when he was two years old and was a shortstop and right-handed batter. 

When he was 12, he picked up switch hitting.

“I’ve got a very good swing from the left,” he said. “My tío said ‘You’ve got a good swing. You’re gonna try to be a switch hitter,’ and I switch hit the whole way.”

Despite growing up hitting righty, Dalis now prefers hitting left-handed.

“It’s more comfortable,” he said. “It’s more free, so it’s good, and my right hand has more power.”

In 2025, Dalis batted left-handed much more than right-handed and found success. In 309 plate appearances as a left-handed batter (87 games), Dalis slashed .319/.410/.480 with 26 extra-base hits. By comparison, in 46 plate appearances as a right-handed batter (30 games), he slashed .250/.333/.400 with four extra-base hits.

Through May 3 with the Fresno Grizzlies, Dalis has batted left-handed nearly twice as often as right-handed in 2026, but has also struggled a bit more. In 76 plate appearances as a left-handed batter, Dalis has hit .161/.316/.339 with two doubles and three home runs. In 25 plate appearances as a right-handed batter, Dalis has hit .261/.280/.435 with one double and one home run. 

Off the field, Dalis prides himself on having a good relationship with his teammates and with fellow Venezuelan shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, who is also from Maracay.

“He’s talked to me offensively about how to use my hands and how to stay back,” Dalis said of Tovar through interpreter Fred Ocasio, “and defensively just always try to create that good hop and use my hand out in front to create that good hop to field the ball.”

Tovar had good things to say about Dalis, as well.

“He has all the talent in the world,” Tovar said through interpreter Edwin Perez. “I think once he puts it all together and gets that maturity that all of us professional baseball players do. I think he’s going to show a lot of people that talent because he’s a very, very talented guy.

Dalis also works really well with fellow switch-hitter Roldy Brito (No. 11 PuRP).

“He gives me a lot of advice and a lot of energy. He’s a really good player,” Dalis said. “The mental aspect of the game is where we help each other out (most). We talk a lot about having confidence and playing the game with confidence.”

It helps that all of the players move as a cohort from the Dominical Summer League to the Arizona Complex League, and then on to Fresno and beyond.

“I’ve always had a good relationship with my teammates,” Dalis said. “I don’t think there’s any difference (between the ACL and Fresno) because I’ve played with all the guys here, and there’s no difference. We all came together from the Dominican to Arizona. 

“But there was one thing: When I left for Fresno, I was playing with more Americans,” he continued. “I liked listening to them and learning about them as well, because they know different things.”

Dalis is currently ranked 18th in the system according to MLB.com and Baseball America. But he’s not worried about rankings. He’s looking towards the future and what he can bring to the Rockies when the time comes.

“Obviously, I know I’m talented,” he said, “but I’m not thinking about ‘Hey, I’m a prospect in the Top 100’ or whatever. I know what I have and my abilities, and that’s it. I don’t worry about the other stuff.

“Hopefully in the near future, I’ll be there (in the majors) and can help the team win and make an impact with the team in Denver.”

Weekly Pebble Report: June 2nd-8th

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (2-4, 34-29 Overall)

The Isotopes dropped four games in their series against the Salt Lake Bees (Los Angeles Angels), including an odd and rare 1-0 loss in a pitching duel. When the Isotopes won, their bats were firing on all cylinders and the pitching was able to stave off the Bees, but the two sides rarely worked in tandem during this series. The Isotopes are sitting at 34-29, 4.0 games back of the PCL lead.

⬆️ Stock Up:No deep drive into left from this Castellano

Signed this off-season to a minor league contract, 25-year-old right-handed pitcher Eiberson Castellano made his Triple-A debut against Salt Lake and turned in quite the gem. Castellano was named Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week for his six scoreless innings of work, giving up just one hit while tallying seven strikeouts and two walks.

⬆️ Stock Up:Dr. Veen’s Extra-base Machine

Zac Veen (no. 9 PuRP) continues to push for a fresh chance at playing in the big leagues with yet another strong week. Veen went 11-for-28 with a home run, three doubles, two triples, four RBIs, and two stolen bases. Veen has been playing very well for the Isotopes this season, hitting .317/.417/.525 with eight home runs, 12 doubles, three triples, 40 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases.

Upcoming

The Isotopes are off to the Pacific Northwest for six games against the Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle Mariners).

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (3-3, 30-25 Overall)

Helped by a series split against the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox), the Hartford Yard Goats sit atop their division in the Eastern League. The series got off to a rough start as the Yard Goats were blown out and shut out. The next day the pitching staff gave up ten runs in another loss. However, Hartford then rattled off three strong wins to seal a series split.

⬆️ Stock Up:Running Up That Hill

GJ Hill had his best series of the season after largely struggling this year with Double-A Hartford. Hill went 9-for-21 at the plate with a double, a triple, four home runs, and ten RBIs. With this series, he boosted his OPS from .643 all the way to .794 on the season.

⬇️ Stock Down:Fish out of water

Left-handed pitcher Griffin Herring (no. 10 PuRP) made just one appearance out of the Yard Goats’ bullpen this series and it was a rough one. Herring went just 0.2 innings and gave up seven earned runs on three walks and four hits—including a home run—without recording a strikeout.

Upcoming

The Yard Goats will host the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays) in a seven game series that includes a double-header on Wednesday.

High-A: Spokane Indians (2-4, 23-34 Overall)

After losing the first two games of the series against the Hillsboro Hops (Arizona Diamondbacks) it looked like the Spokane Indians could regain their footing. They won two in a row including a 12-5 blowout. Unfortunately, they then lost their final two games of the series including a thud of a series finale via a 14-0 beatdown.

⬆️ Stock Up:Continued rehab progress

Right-handed pitcher Gabriel Hughes (no. 12 PuRP) made his second rehab start with the Indians and looks ready to return to action. Hughes struck out six over three shutout innings while giving up two hits and a walk. A return to the active roster in Albuquerque would mean a lot to both the Isotopes and the big league squad, who are both in desperate need of pitching reinforcements.

⬆️ Stock Up:

Outfielder Robert Calaz (no. 6 PuRP) still hasn’t quite found his power swing in Spokane, but he had a very solid week at the plate. Calaz went 9-for-18 with a double, a triple, a home run, and seven RBIs with two walks and only three strikeouts.

Upcoming

Now tied for last in the Northwest League, the Indians are off to Eugene to play the league-leading Emeralds (San Francisco Giants).

Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (3-3, 30-27 Overall)

Plenty of runs were scored in a series split against the California League South-leading Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego Padres). The Fresno Grizzlies are still two games back in their own division behind the San Jose Giants, but they still have one of the better records in the league.

⬆️ Stock Up:Never in a pickle

2025 draft pick and right-handed closer Seth Clausen continues to quietly be an underrated gem for the Grizzlies pitching staff. The 16th round pick pitched a combined 3.1 innings of scoreless, hitless late innings work against the Storm with a strikeout and a walk. Opposing batters are hitting just .122 against Clausen and he currently has a 1.61 ERA over 28 innings this season.

⬇️ Stock Down:Missing the Marcos

Right-handed pitcher Marcos Herrera was a fairly reliable starting pitcher for the Grizzlies last season. In 21 appearances—19 of which were starts—he posted a 3.93 ERA. Unfortunately, this season has been a rough one. Herrera has a 9.28 ERA in 12 starts so far. This week he struggled again. In 4.2 innings he gave up nine earned runs on 11 hits—two of which were home runs—and four walks while striking out four.

Upcoming

The Grizzlies have six game series ahead of them against the Visalia Rawhide (Arizona Diamondbacks).

Arizona Complex League: ACL Rockies (5-0, 20-7 Overall)

After a 5-0 week, the ACL Rockies find themselves sitting atop the Arizona Complex League with the best record in the desert. They even had two games in which they scored 14 or more runs.

⬆️ Stock Up:Ugarte A La Carte

First baseman Ronny Ugarte went 10-for-18 at the plate this week with his best game coming against the ACL Giants where he went 4-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs.

⬇️ Stock Down:More of a concept than a Concepcion

18-year-old righty Kevin Concepcion (no, not the wide receiver drafted by the Cleveland Browns this year) made his first start since joining the Complex League after two solid relief appearances. The start went poorly, with Concepcion giving up six earned runs on seven hits and a walk over just 2.2 innings of work.

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The Mets are getting a huge piece back in their lineup, with the club activating catcher Francisco Alvarez off of the IL. 

In a corresponding move, catcher Hayden Senger was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.

Alvarez suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee while swinging a bat against the Tigers on May 12. And while the initial diagnosis had Alvarez likely to miss 6-8 weeks, he has been activated in just four weeks, including a brief rehab stint.

The young catcher is hitting .241 with four home runs and 10 RBI in 37 games this season, but he was heating up prior to his injury. In his last seven games played, Alvarez is hitting .292 with a ,375 slugging percentage.

The hope for the Mets was that Alvarez would be able to be activated at some point during their current six-game home stand against the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves, which begins on Tuesday night, and it turns out that he'll now be availability for the entire homestand.

The future keeps arriving on the South Side. Prior to Tuesday night’s series opener, before the Braves roll in, the White Sox officially selected the contract of Braden Montgomery from Triple-A Charlotte. One of the most hyped call-ups of this whole rebuild is now, at last, real.

Montgomery, No. 2 in Chicago’s system and No. 21 in all of baseball (MLB Pipeline), has been banging on the door since Opening Day.

He started the year in Birmingham, and it took about five minutes for the 23-year-old switch-hitter to torch the Southern League. Player of the Month in April, up to Charlotte by May 5. The brakes? He never found them.

The numbers across the season: .314/.422/.548, 10 bombs, 41 RBIs, 52 runs, 39 walks in 56 games between Birmingham and Charlotte. And in his last 10 with the Knights, he basically turned into Barry Bonds: .474/.580/.711, on base like it was a birthright.

At that point, there wasn’t much left to prove.

This call-up is another notch for the blockbuster Garrett Crochet trade between Chicago and Boston in December 2024. Montgomery was one of four bodies in that deal — Kyle Teel, Chase Meidroth, Wikelman González, the others. All four have reached the majors (although González started the season in Charlotte and is currently on the IL), and the trade isn’t even two years old.

For Montgomery, the journey to the majors has been anything but ordinary.

The former No. 12 overall pick entered the 2024 draft as one of the most talented players in college baseball after starring at Texas A&M. His combination of switch-hitting pop, incredible athleticism, and an arm that could knock over a mailbox from the outfield. A broken ankle suffered during the Aggies’ postseason run briefly slowed his ascent, but it did little to diminish the excitement surrounding his long-term potential.

Since turning pro, the hype train has only picked up speed.

Scouts drool over the power, but that’s just the start. The arm is a cannon — 70-grade, no exaggeration — and he can handle center or right. Most see him sticking in right, but the ability to play center is a nice bonus for a team still sorting through its future core.

The best part is that Montgomery isn’t just a slugger. He works counts, draws walks, and owns the strike zone. That patience, plus the pop, is why scouts see him as a real middle-of-the-order threat.

Now the White Sox and their fans will find out how quickly those tools translate in the big leagues.

Montgomery’s call-up came as part of a roster shuffle, with Joe Rock up from Charlotte, Rikuu Nishida and David Sandlin back to Triple-A, and Austin Hays to the 60-day IL.

But let’s be real: Tuesday is all about Montgomery.

For a team still building towards the next competitive window, these call-ups are the measuring stick. Some are just bodies. Some are hope.

Montgomery feels like something more.

The Sox think they landed a cornerstone in the Crochet deal. Starting tonight against Atlanta, fans get their first look at whether he can turn all that promise into something real.

The Braden Montgomery era? It’s here. Get excited.

Last week, we turned the page to a new month. The White Sox hit the road for their sixth road trip of the year. Instead of building off of a 6-1 home stand, they dropped four of six.

June was always going to be a tough month for this South Side squad. The month started with a continuation of the division matchups that ended May, moved on to a trip to Philly, relentlessly pushes into three series against some of the best teams in the league, and ends with three divisional series. Which is why after recently taking three of four from the Twins at home, it seemed like a sure thing the domination of the Minnesota club would continue.

For the bats, much of this trend continued this week. The Pale Hose scored no fewer than four runs in all six games they played.

Miguel Vargas came to play in the opener in Minnesota. Two-run home runs were the name of the game for the third baseman. He hit not one but two in the 9-6 loss:

In Tuesday’s 6-4 loss to the Twins, Vargas showed up again with a two-run single. RBI’s five and six of the week put the White Sox up 3-0 at the time:

On Wednesday, the White Sox finally got into the win column, 8-0. Vargas went 1-for-3 with two walks, two runs and his eighth RBI of the week. Had an MVP been named for the series, it would have gone to the 26-year-old.

Randal Grichuk kept his team in the opener on Friday in City of Brotherly Love. The outfielder was brought in specifically to hit against lefty pitching, and hit against lefty pitching he has. This season five of his six home runs and 12 of his 19 RBIs can be credited to facing a left-handed pitchers. Jesús Luzardo was Grichuk’s most recent victim: The DH for the night nabbed two solo shots off the starter and kept the game within striking distance, but the White Sox would ultimately end up losing, 8-6:

The six runs scored on Saturday, however, would be enough to earn the win. Both Colson Montgomery and Jacob Gonzalez homered, and we’ll show you the latter home run because it was the first long ball of J-Gone’s career. The ball traveled 428 feet into the second deck of right field, so it was no cheapie:

There were six lead changes in Sunday’s 9-5 loss. There were no home runs for the White Sox in this effort, but Tristan Peters smacked his 15th double of the year. The brief Banana is now batting .307 on the season. Peters was designated for assignment by the Rays before Chris Getz made a call to trade for him. A trade that cost the club cash and a player to be named later. While Tampa is sure to get a PTBNL upgrade from a system nobody to an actual prospect, for now one team’s loss is another team’s treasure.

The pitching this week was feeling the effects of playing 13 games in a row.

The highlight of this pitching struggle could be summarized best in David Sandlin’s performance. As you might remember, the rookie’s career debut was highlighted by retiring 18 in a row after giving up a solo home run to Byron Buxton to start the game. Last week, Sandlin started a second game against the Twins to open the series in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The result could not have been more different. He only made it through four innings, giving up eight runs on eight hits and four walks.

During the rubber match in Philly on Sunday, Sandlin entered the game after a Tyler Gilbert open. This time he made it through 3 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on three hits and three walks. His home runs allowed has now climbed to four after just 13 1/3 innings of work over three game appearances.

This week was also the week Davis Martin finally stumbled. A bad start was bound to happen, but Buxton and company is not who I anticipated this struggle to happen against. The starter added a second loss to his record after pitching 4 2/3 innings. He surrendered six runs on 10 hits and struck out a season-low two batters.

Relief pitching did not have a great week, either. Tyler Davis and his 12 ERA over the stretch was a perfect example of this. His first of the week, on Monday, was an inconsequential ninth run given up to the Twins in a 9-6 loss. On Friday, Davis had a scoreless outing against the Phillies. What happened on Sunday to finish up the week, you ask? Davis entered the game in the bottom of the fifth inning with a 5-4 lead and a job to hold the score there. Hold the score he did not. After three hits, a walk and one strikeout, the inning ended with the Good Guys in a 7-5 hole. The rubber match would be lost by a final of 9-5. An opportunity for a .500 week and a series win going into playing Atlanta was squandered by one inning of poor pitching.

As if that relief pitching wasn’t ugly enough, Bryan Hudson came out of the week with a 27 ERA in 1 1/3 innings of work. His two appearances in Philadelphia were both two outs apiece, giving up two runs in each. To no one’s surprise, there were no strikeouts involved during these outings.

Hopefully the Monday off-day will prove as a reset for Zach Bove’s pitching staff. The club will need a locked-in rotation and bullpen if they are to squeak out some wins against the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Freddy Peralta doesn't give the New York Mets enough of an edge over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals tonight to take the home team to win straight up on the moneyline.

New York is a -117 favorite, and my Cardinals vs. Mets predictions are fading the home team to find value elsewhere, particularly with the Over.

Let's dig in with my MLB picks on Tuesday, June 9.

Who will win Cardinals vs Mets today: Cardinals moneyline (+112)

The New York Mets have played better baseball of late, but I'm not champing at the bit to take them to win straight up at -117 in this spot. The St. Louis Cardinals are the better value proposition at plus money on the road.

This price reflects the pitching matchup more than anything, as Dustin May is pitching opposite Freddy Peralta. However, Peralta has been underwhelming in his first (perhaps last) season in Queens.

Compare his under-the-hood metrics year over year, and you'll see the Mets may have gotten hosed by the Milwaukee Brewers (whomst among us?) in their offseason trade (well, not really, as neither Brandon Sproat nor Jett Williams has looked that good). Last year, Peralta generated whiff and strikeout rates in the 83rd and 84th percentiles, respectively. This year, those have fallen to the 71st and 60th.

Additionally, Peralta saw a three-point Stuff+ dip and a slight drop in his Location+ from April to May, as his pitches simply aren't fooling hitters and he's not hitting his spots. 

His 3.63 ERA isn't terrible, but it's worse by nearly a full run from a season ago, and his expected ERA is 3.79 with an expected batting average of .237 (both in the 57th percentile). 

All told, he's getting hit more frequently and harder, and with bat-speed darling Jordan Walker waiting in the wings, I like the value in the visitors because Peralta isn't giving New York the edge implied by the price. I'd play the Cardinals to +105.

COVERS INTEL: Peralta's 14.3 BlastCon% is the highest it's been since it was first measured in 2024, meaning his offerings are getting squared up at top speed more frequently, particularly helping favor the Over 7.5.

Cardinals vs Mets Over/Under pick: Over 7.5 (-115)

With Peralta getting squared up frequently, and May similarly struggling to suppress scoring, we've taken our first step toward the Over 7.5.

And while Peralta's fly-ball rate is a reasonable 35.5%, that's so far below his career rate that it's reasonable to expect some normalization. 

Lars Nootbaar and JJ Wetherholt are healthy, which only bolsters St. Louis' offense alongside Walker and Alec Burleson.

May boasts an average fastball velocity of 96.8 mph, which ranks in the 84th percentile. Pretty good! Unfortunately, his average exit velocity is 90.4 mph, which is in the 19th percentile. Not great!

With wind blowing out toward right-center, per BallparkPal, it's shaping up to be a long day at the office for these hurlers.

Mets outfielder Juan Soto has the best matchup rating on today's slate, according to Batters-Box. If the Mets stack lefty bats like Soto and the red-hot Carson Benge, May will be in trouble, as they've hit .299/.371/.448 against him this season.

I'd take the Over 7.5 as short as -145 or pivot to Over 8.5 at plus money around +120 as an alternative.

Cardinals vs Mets odds

• Moneyline: Cardinals +113 | Mets -117
• Run line: Cardinals +1.5 (-178) | Mets -1.5 (+170)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-113) | Under 7.5 (+108)

Cardinals vs Mets trend

The New York Mets have hit the Game Total Over in 10 of their last 14 games at home (+7.80 Units / 51% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Cardinals vs. Mets.

How to watch Cardinals vs Mets and game info

Cardinals vs Mets latest injuries

Cardinals vs Mets weather

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The Dodgers haven’t lost two games in a row in four weeks, but that run of success will be put to a tough test in Tuesday night’s series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

In a week in which they scored nine runs in one inning — their biggest frame since 2021 — the Dodgers also scored two or fewer runs in three of seven games last week and were held scoreless in 52 of their 62 innings at the plate.

Now they try to get the bats back on track against Pirates ace Paul Skenes.

Tuesday marks the fifth time in five series since Skenes debuted in 2024 that the right-hander will face the Dodgers. In his rookie season, the Dodgers and Pirates split those two games, and Skenes looked relatively human, with seven runs allowed in 11 innings, including three home runs.

Last year, Skenes simply fixed the glitch, and did not allow any runs to the Dodgers in 12 1/3 innings over two starts, both Pirates wins, en route to winning the National League Cy Young Award, after finishing third as a rookie. In total, Skenes has 33 strikeouts against only three walks against the Dodgers, with at least eight strikeouts in all four starts to date.

Skenes this year has allowed 15 runs (11 earned) in 20 innings over his last four starts, all Pirates losses. It’s just the second time Skenes has failed to pitch six innings in four consecutive starts, but last year’s four-game stint included a pair of scoreless starts.

The recent skid ballooned Skenes’ ERA to 3.09, which stands out because during his first two major league seasons saw him post a 1.96 and 1.97 ERA. That ERA this year still ranks 11th in the National League, while his 2.29 xERA is second. Skenes’ strikeout rate (29.5 percent) ranks fourth, while his strikeout-minus-walk rate (24.8 percent) is third.

Skenes is third in FanGraphs WAR (2.2) in the National League, tied with Shohei Ohtani, who will start on the mound on Wednesday and be the first batter Skenes faces on Tuesday. Ohtani homered off Skenes in their first meeting, on June 5, 2024, but overall has just two hits in 11 at-bats against him, with six strikeouts and a walk.

Andy Pages has four hits in six at-bats against Skenes, including a home run and two doubles, but only two other Dodgers have multiple hits off the Pirates ace — Kyle Tucker has a home run and double in five career at-bats, while Freddie Freeman has two hits in 12 at-bats, including a double.

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Pirates
• Ballpark: PNC Park, Pittsburgh
• Time: 3:40 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Inspiration.

I kept some oat milk in the refrigerator, thinking that when the time was right, it would be much better than regular milk.  Eventually the milk went sour.  I thought of Alek Thomas.

Doubts appeared before it happened.

“At this point, expecting Thomas to anchor center field for a competitive Diamondbacks club feels optimistic. His tools suggest upside, but four seasons of stasis on offense and regression on defense tell a different story.” — Jeff Irving, December 2025

“On the other end of the age spectrum, this season may be the last chance for Jorge Barrosa and Alek Thomas to have a breakthrough performance.” — Makakilo, February 2026

Ben Seigel asked, “When will the front office start to make some decisions on Alek Thomas?”  He made a strong argument:

“And there are multiple high-level prospects currently sitting down in Reno chomping at the bit for an opportunity including Tommy Troy, Ryan Waldschmidt, and eventually A.J. Vukovich when he returns from injury. That’s also not taking into account Jordan Lawlar’s eventual return…” — Ben Seigel, April 2026

My article, Which Outfielder Will Most Exceed Expectations? had a table of FanGraphs 2026 projections of four statistics (wRC+, OBP, HR/PA, and SLG) for each of six possible Diamondbacks outfielders.  This season with the Diamondbacks, Thomas fell significantly short of each of his four projections.  Also he fell short of the projections of the other possible outfielders except for Barrosa (SLG and HR/PA).

What happened?

This season with the Diamondbacks, Alek Thomas struggled at the plate.  He had several career low statistics, such as .222 OBP, .340 SLG, 3.0 BB%. His defense in center field, although above average, had not returned to the level of 2022/2023, when he was twice nominated for a gold glove.

Instead of optioning Thomas to AAA until he was ready to return, the Diamondbacks DFA’d him to remove him from the 40-man roster.  That opened a trade window prior to Thomas being available to other teams on waivers.  Only if he was not traded, and only if no team claimed him on waivers, would he be available to return to the Diamondbacks. 

The Dodgers made a trade offer that the Diamondbacks liked, so Thomas was traded to the Dodgers for Jose Requena, a 17-years-old outfielder. 

Mike Hazen’s comments are key to understanding the Diamondbacks’ viewpoint.  The bolded italics were added by me. 

• “I think he made changes this offseason, fundamentally, to target some of those things. I know he worked at all those things. It hasn’t translated.” — Mike Hazen, May 2026
• “I feel like if we just optioned him, feeling like he’s buried, sitting down there, biding his time until he gets another opportunity, I wasn’t sure that we were going to get the best version. This is the opportunity we’ll have to get the best version of him if he’s still here.” — Mike Hazen, May 2026

In the minors, had other outfielders developed to the point that keeping Thomas in the Majors would stunt their development?  My view is that the desired player mindset is working extraordinarily hard to prepare, not knowing whether an opportunity would happen.  I hold up Yilber Diaz as the prime example of the desired player mindset in the following two AZ Snake Pit articles:

• The secrets of his success.
• Is Yilber Diaz ready?

Is there an undiscovered Alek Thomas?

Alex Thomas, 1-6 June, AAA (Pacific Coast League) results follow (Data from Baseball Savant):

• Alek Thomas did not swing at five waste zone pitches (far from the strike zone).  That seems to reflect a very positive change compared to the 2026 season in the Majors, when he swung at 20.6% of waste zone pitches with zero hits.
• Recently, Alek Thomas’ OBP was worse in AAA (.176 vs .222), but xOBA was a little better (.327 vs .275).  Again, that seems positive.
• Recently, Alek Thomas hit a lot more ground balls compared to fly balls (roughly 4:1 vs 1.7:1).  This change likely reflects swing changes after being traded to the Dodgers. Recently, his launch angles are rarely in the optimal range. See table for more details.

The following table shows Exit Velocities (EV) , Launch Angles (LA), and Ball-In-Play (BIP) information for Alex Thomas 1-6 June, AAA.

My conclusion is that there are signs that Thomas made positive changes at the plate.  The undiscovered Alek Thomas may be emerging.

Summary.

This season was Alek Thomas’ last chance for a breakout season with the Diamondbacks. His defense was above average (albeit less than it was), but he struggled at the plate. His offseason work did not translate to season results. The Diamondbacks DFA’s him. Then they traded him to the Dodgers.

Perhaps Thomas now has a mindset similar to Yilber Diaz : working extraordinarily hard to prepare, not knowing whether another opportunity will happen.

In his first week in AAA, Alek Thomas reduced his swings at waste zone pitches (20.6% to zero), increased his expected on-base-percent, and hit a home run. On the other hand, he hit a lot of grounders, perhaps because his launch angles are rarely in the optimal range. The undiscovered Alek Thomas may be emerging.

After a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates where they were able get through without facing Paul Skenes, the Atlanta Braves are headed to Chicago where the Acuña brothers will be facing off.

Grant Holmes will be taking the mound, and as we have seen, he tends to run out of gas after going through the lineup twice. A big question mark is after an off day if Didier Fuentes will be available for long relief if needed. A combo of Holmes and Fuentes in the same game seems to be a solid strategy of it can be done.

So far this season Holmes has an ERA of 3.86 and FIP of 1.317, which are both right on par with the rest of his career. However, his 21.2 percent strikeout rate is the worst of his career, and his expected ERA (xERA) of 4.49 shows he is due for some regression. He has been particularly fortunate with a left on base percentage of 83.3 when his career average is 79.2, and his BABIP against him is .256, which is lower than his career .287.

Oddly, it is the second time a hitter faces him in a game when he struggles, not the third. Hitters are averaging an OPS of .569 the first time they see him, a 1.010 the second time, and a .519 the third. Nine of his twelve HRs that he has given up have been during the second time through the order. It will be interesting to see how Walt
Weiss handles him moving forward.

Only two players on the entire White Sox active roster have faced Holmes, and neither have more than two at-bats. Coincidentally it is Ronald Acuña’s brother, Luisangel, who has those two at-bats and he is hitless. Randal Grichuk is hitless in his one at-bat.

Like the Pirates that the Braves just swept, the White Sox are a team that have been surprisingly good on offense. They are fourth in MLB in HRs, and seventh in total runs per game. Good news for the Braves is they are bottom ten in ERA with a 4.38 right behind their crosstown rivals, the Cubs.

Former Braves pitcher Erick Fedde was originally slated to take the mound for the Braves. But then it was announced that Brandon Eisert will be opening. Eisert held Atlanta hitless last season in 1.1 innings and has had a solid year thus far in 14.0 innings. This season he has a 3.21 ERA, 2.97 FIP, and a 1.214 WHIP. He also has fifteen strikeouts to only five walks.

Based on Fedde originally slotted to start, it can be guessed that he will be following Eisert. Fedde’s time with the Braves is probably time that he would like to forget when he had an ERA of 8.10 in 23.1 innings in 2025. Fedde is not exactly doing well this season either. He currently sports an ERA of 4.94 and an xERA of 4.50. His xERA is in the bottom 33.0 percent of MLB. He is only striking out 14.2 hitters which is in the bottom 4.0 percent of MLB and is walking 9.4 percent, which is in the worst 40.0 percent.

On paper, the Braves’ offense should be licking their chops should they get to face Fedde, but we never truly know with the great game of baseball what will happen. Ronald Acuña and Austin Riley have had the best success against Fedde on the team. In nineteen at-bats Acuña has three HRs, a .316 average, and a 1.277 OPS. In twenty- two at-bats Riley has a .982 OPS with one HR. Another player to keep an eye on is Michael Harris. We already know he is on fire this year, but in his nine at-bats against Fedde he has a .667 average and 1.445 OPS. As far as Eisert goes, there is not enough data to really draw any conclusions, but based on his 14.0 innings this year, the Braves need to get him off the mound as fast as they can to move on to the other pitchers on the White Sox roster.

First pitch is at 7:40 EDT

Game Info

Game Time: Friday, June 9th, 7:40 pm EDT

Location: Rate Field, , Chicago, IL

Watch: BravesVision / Gray TV

Radio/Audio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan