Description
Alek Thomas is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022. Thomas spent his first professional season with the Arizona League Diamondbacks and Missoula Osprey, batting .333 with two home runs, 27 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases in 56 games between the two teams. He started 2019 with the Kane County Cougars. In July, he was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game. In August, he was promoted to the Visalia Rawhide, with whom he finished the year. Over 114 games between the two teams, Thomas slashed .300/.379/.450 with ten home runs, 55 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases.
Thomas did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He began the 2021 season with the Amarillo Sod Poodles. In June, Thomas was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game. He was promoted to the Reno Aces in August. Over 106 games between the two teams, he slashed .313/.394/.559 with 18 home runs, 59 RBIs, and 29 doubles. He opened the 2022 season back with Reno, and hitting .277/.362/.495/.857 with 4 home runs and 14 RBI over 24 games.
On May 8, 2022, Thomas was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. On May 11th, he hit his first career home run off Sandy Alcántara of the Miami Marlins. In Game 4 of the 2023 National League Championship Series, Thomas hit a pinch-hit, game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning to help propel the Diamondbacks to a 6–5 victory.
Thomas represented the United States at the 2017 U-18 Baseball World Cup and Mexico at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Thomas was named to the 2017 U-18 All-World Team after recording a .361 batting average en route to a gold medal.
Jarred Kelenic is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Kelenic was drafted in the first round of the 2018 MLB draft by the New York Mets and was traded to the Seattle Mariners later that year. He made his MLB debut in 2021 with the Mariners.
In July 2017, Kelenic participated in the High School Home Run Derby at Marlins Park. Later that month, he played in the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game. He again played for Team USA in 2017 and won a gold medal for the second consecutive year.
During the offseason, Kelenic worked on adjusting his approach at the plate to one that would be more suitable for hitting major-league pitching, especially towards breaking balls, which he greatly struggled hitting while he was in the major leagues.[43][44] Before the 2023 season, Kelenic was again viewed as a breakout candidate because of his performance after his final call-up, as well as the ban on the infield shift that was introduced in 2023.
In 2023 Spring Training with the Seattle Mariners, Kelenic flourished, slashing .353/.389/.706 with four home runs in 54 plate appearances. Kelenic began the season on the Opening Day roster, with the intent of platooning in left field with the newly-acquired A. J. Pollock. Kelenic continued his spring training success into the major league season, hitting well enough to earn starts against left-handed pitchers and became the everyday left fielder.
On April 12th, 2023, Kelenic hit a 482-foot home run that landed in the second tier of the center field bleachers at Wrigley Field, the longest regular-season home run recorded at Wrigley and the longest by a Mariner during the Statcast era. (since 2015) Kelenic finished his 2023 season batting .253/.327/.419, with 11 home runs and 49 runs batted in.
This dynamite 8 x 10 Photo features Arizona Diamondbacks Outfielder Alek Thomas and Atlanta Braves Outfielder Jarred Kelenic from the 2017 18U USA National Team which played in the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup. The team won the Gold with Kelenic leading the team in hits. The Photo has been signed by Alek Thomas and Jarred Kelenic in blue. The Photo includes an official James Spence Authentication (JSA) hologram and matching COA for authenticity purposes.
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