Blaze Alexander #9

Signed by D-backs as an 11th-round selection in the First-Year Player Draft on June 10, 2018...Signed by Luke Wrenn... Brother, C.J., is an infielder in the Athletics organization...Grandfather, Charles, pitched in the Cubs organization after World War II...Father, Chuck, is a former Minor League pitcher in the Cleveland organization...Uncle, Dan Plesac, is a former Major League pitcher and current MLB Network analyst...Committed to play baseball at the University of South Carolina but opted to play professionally after being drafted out of IMG Academy...In the summer of 2017 at the Perfect Game National Showcase in Cape Coral, Fla., he threw a ball at 99 mph across the infield, setting a then-event record for fastest infielder velocity...Was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome in 2018, a relatively common heart condition that causes the heart to beat abnormally fast for periods of time...Had a heart procedure called a catheter ablation, in which a tube is guided into the heart to destroy small areas of tissue that may be causing the abnormal heartbeat...Served as the celebrity coach in the D-backs’ Superstar Baseball Camp in June 2024 at Chase Field for players ages 7-12.

2024

Hit .247 (41-for-166)/.664 OPS with seven doubles, three homers, 21 RBI, 15 walks and three stolen bases in 61 games...Made 16 starts at shortstop, 13 at second base, 13 at DH and six at third for Arizona...In 14 games as DH, batted .350 (14-for-40)/.935 OPS with three doubles, one homer, eight RBI and five walks...Made his first Opening Day roster and MLB debut on Opening Day vs. Rockies at DH...In his first nine starts, batted .370 (10-for-27)/1.044 OPS with two homers, four RBI, four walks and one stolen base...Recorded his first multi-RBI game (three RBI) on April 16 vs. Cubs...Became just the fourth player ever to record two or more extra-base hits, one homer and five RBI in a game at Oracle Park, joining OAK's Josh Donaldson (May 18, 2012), LAD's Paul Lo Duca (June 26, 2001) and SF's Jeff Kent (Aug. 3, 2000)…Was also the youngest player to do so at Oracle Park at age 24-313 (previous: Donaldson, 26-162)…In April, hit .315 (17-for-54)/.987 OPS with five doubles, three homers, 12 RBI and nine walks…Ranked among rookies in April (min. 20 games) in virtually all major offensive categories, including OBP (first, .413), AVG. (second), OPS (second), doubles (tied for fourth), RBI (tied for fourth), homers (fifth) and total bases (fifth, 31)…Recorded his first three-walk game on April 29 vs. Dodgers...Reached base in a season-high 10 straight games from May 24-June 11, hitting .389 (14-for-36)/.865 OPS, with two doubles, three RBI, one walk and one HBP...Recorded his first career pinch-hit (two-run 1B) on June 30 vs. Oakland...Optioned to Triple-A Reno on July 2…Was recalled for a second stint from Aug. 14-20...In 51 games with Triple-A Reno, hit .276 (54-for196)/.797 OPS with 12 doubles, three triples, five homers, 20 RBI and 19 walks...Became the third D-backs rookie to start on Opening Day in their Major League debut (also: 2B Edwin Diaz in 1998 and 1B Travis Lee in 1998)…Became the 18th D-backs rookie overall to make a start on Opening Day...Became the second D-back to record two or more hits on Opening Day in their MLB debut (also: Travis Lee, three hits in 1998)…Recorded his first hit (RBI-single) in the third inning on Opening Day and his first multi-hit game (2-for-5, RBI)…Hit his first Major League home run on April 3 vs. Yankees (solo off C. Rodón)…Recorded his first grand slam as well as three-hit and five-RBI game on April 19 @ Giants…his eight total bases were also a season high…became the eighth rookie in D-backs' history to record a grand slam (last: Corbin Carroll/2023)

2023

Hit .291 (72-for-247) with 13 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 52 RBI, 42 walks and two stolen bases in 73 games with Triple-A Reno...Placed on the seven-day injured list on April 14 and transferred to the 60-day injured list with a fractured right thumb...Recorded 21 multi-hit games. Entered the season rated as the D-backs' No. 14 prospect by MLB Pipeline (No. 17 by The Athletic).

2022

Combined to hit .301 (106-for-352) with 18 doubles, three triples, 20 home runs and 59 RBI in 98 games between ACL D-backs Black, Double- A Amarillo and Triple-A Reno... Spent the majority of the season with Amarillo, batting .306 (97-for-317) with 17 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs and 54 RBI in 88 games....Had three stints on the injured list: April 10-18 (sprained right ankle), June 22-July 1 and July 21-Aug. 8 (left wrist contusion)...Promoted to Reno on Sept. 20…hit .259 (7-for-27) with one double, two home runs and four RBI in seven games with the Aces....Ranked the D-backs' No. 15 prospect in-season by Baseball America.

2021

 Played 92 games with High-A Hillsboro, batting .218 (74-for-339) with 16 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs and 38 RBI.  

2019

Batted .262 (90-for-343) with 12 doubles, 4 triples, 7 home runs and 47 RBI in 97 games with Single-A Kane County....Had four-hit games on July 2 @ Peoria and Aug. 3 vs. Quad Cities...Ranked among team leaders in triples (2nd), average (3rd), games (3rd), runs (3rd, 56), stolen bases (3rd, 14), hit by pitch (3rd, 12) and home runs (3rd)....Entered the year rated as the D-backs' No. 18 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

2018

Hit .329 (69-for-210)/.955 OPS with 19 doubles, five triples, five home runs and 42 RBI in 55 games between Rookie-level AZL D-backs and Rookie-Advanced Missoula....Ranked among AZL leaders in OPS (1st, 1.049), runs (1st, 25), slugging pct. (2nd, .574), on-base percentage (2nd, .475), total bases (2nd, 54), RBI (2nd, 25), extra-base hits (T-2nd, 14), doubles (T-2nd, 10), average (3rd, .362), and walks (T-3rd, 19)...Promoted to Missoula on Aug. 1…ranked among Pioneer League leaders in runs (1st, 27) and triples (T-3rd, 3).