Blaze Alexander’s Rise Gives the Orioles a Happy Storyline
Blaze Alexander has gone from overlooked utility infielder to one of the Baltimore Orioles' most valuable hitters.
The Baltimore Orioles’ season hasn’t gone the way they envisioned when they entered spring training with aspirations of winning the American League East. There are plenty of reasons why Baltimore has fallen short of expectations so far this season.
Almost immediately, the Orioles lost both veteran starter Zach Eflin and All-Star third baseman Jordan Westburg to season-ending surgeries. It has felt like Baltimore never got a real chance to see the roster Mike Elias assembled for this season.
However, that’s the reality of a 162-game baseball season. Every team deals with injuries. Some simply suffer more than others.
But as injuries pause one player’s story, they give another player a chance to write his own. This season, that story belongs to one of the Orioles’ final offseason additions: Blaze Alexander.
Stats were taken prior to play on June 29.
An Opportunity Created by Injuries
Baltimore acquired Alexander from the Arizona Diamondbacks on February 5, just before spring training. One day later, Jackson Holliday broke his hamate bone, and Alexander’s role suddenly became much larger than anyone expected.
The Orioles still had Jeremiah Jackson and several other infield options, so Alexander wasn’t expected to shoulder a full-time workload. At least that remained true until Westburg tore his UCL just a few weeks later.
Before the trade, Alexander spent parts of two seasons with Arizona. He never appeared in more than 74 games in a season. His role seemed straightforward: a solid utility infielder rather than an everyday starter.
Last season, Alexander slashed .230/.323/.383 with a .706 OPS and seven home runs across 230 at-bats. Those numbers reinforced the perception that he fit best as a quality bench piece.
After all, Alexander was an 11th-round draft pick out of high school in 2018. He never ranked among the Diamondbacks’ top 10 prospects in his time with the organization, and players with that profile often get labeled early, and those labels tend to stick.
Too often in sports, players never receive enough opportunities to prove they can be more valuable than scouting reports once projected. Alexander has finally received that opportunity in Baltimore.
When second and third base suddenly opened because of injuries, the Orioles needed someone to step in. Alexander answered the call.
The 27-year-old has become the backbone of a streaky Orioles lineup, providing a spark near the bottom of the order. This season, he’s hitting .302/.357/.429 with a .785 OPS, 12 doubles, three home runs, and 25 RBIs.
What makes Alexander’s season even more impressive is where he started. Entering play on May 3, he was batting below .200. Since then, he’s been one of the hottest hitters in baseball, batting .381 with 43 hits, three home runs, 24 RBIs, and 14 runs scored over his last 44 games. All three of his home runs and 23 of his 24 RBIs have come during that stretch.
Why has Alexander become such a dangerous hitter?
For the first time in his career, he doesn’t have to wonder whether his name will be in tomorrow’s lineup. He’s finally received consistent playing time, and he’s making the most of it.
Naturally, there will be skeptics. Every season, seemingly random players catch fire for a few weeks before eventually coming back to earth. It’s fair to wonder whether Alexander’s breakout is simply another hot streak.
The Breakout Is Real
However, this isn’t some lucky two-week stretch from a bench player. Alexander has earned these results.
Trivia time: Which player ranks in the 98th percentile in expected batting average, right below Yordan Alvarez, Bobby Witt Jr. and Juan Soto?
Believe it or not, it’s Blaze Alexander.
Alexander owns a .301 expected batting average, placing him among baseball’s elite hitters. His average exit velocity on balls put in play sits at 92.1 mph, ranking in the 90th percentile. His underlying metrics even grade out better than teammates Gunnar Henderson and Taylor Ward.
Those numbers show Alexander isn’t simply finding holes or benefiting from good fortune. He’s making consistently hard contact, and the quality of that contact supports everything he’s done over the past two months.
Perhaps even more impressive than the advanced metrics is Alexander’s ability to deliver when Baltimore needs him most.
In 51 plate appearances with runners in scoring position, Alexander is hitting an incredible .372/.417/.605 with a 1.022 OPS.
The next-closest Orioles hitter in those situations is another unexpected contributor, Leody Taveras, who owns an .881 OPS with runners in scoring position.
As a team, Baltimore is hitting just .245 with runners in scoring position, which ranks 17th in baseball. Alexander has consistently delivered in the biggest moments while much of the lineup has struggled to do the same.
Championship-caliber teams almost always receive contributions from unexpected players. The stars rarely carry a club every night over a six-month season.
Just look at last year’s World Series. The Dodgers featured one of baseball’s deepest lineups riddled with stars, yet veteran backup Miguel Rojas delivered one of the postseason’s biggest swings with a game-tying home run when Los Angeles was just two outs away from defeat.
Those moments often define great teams. They almost always come from players nobody expects.
More Than Just a Great Story
None of this guarantees the Orioles will make the postseason simply because they’ve uncovered an excellent player in Alexander. Baseball rarely works that way. But it certainly improves their chances.
Every day, Alexander proves he belongs in the major leagues, not just for the rest of this season but well beyond it.
Without Westburg, who was arguably Baltimore’s most consistent hitter when healthy, the Orioles need Alexander to maintain this level of production if they hope to climb back into the playoff race.
The division may already be out of reach, but Baltimore sits just three games behind the final American League wild-card spot. With plenty of baseball remaining, the Orioles still have an opportunity to make a run.
Either way, a team that struggled for much of the season is beginning to find its footing. Baltimore probably still needs another piece or two at the trade deadline if it hopes to play in October.
But thanks to Blaze Alexander, the Orioles have one less box to check.
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Written by
Thomas Kelson is an intern at Just Baseball and a graduating senior at Rutgers University, where he studied Journalism and Media Studies with a specialization in…