Diamondbacks fans can't be feeling good about Alek Thomas’ second life with Dodgers

Alek Thomas hasn't been playing like an MVP since being recalled by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he's certainly doing enough to annoy Arizona Diamondbacks fans.

In his first four games wearing Dodger blue, Thomas has already tallied three hits and three RBI while filling in for the injured Andy Pages in center field. Before Wednesday's 0-for-5 performance, he had driven in a run in every game as a Dodger.

The Diamondbacks have enough to worry about being one game out of the National League Wild Card race, but they've surely taken notice of Thomas' hot start with the defending champs.

Has Alek Thomas experienced a baseball rebirth with the Dodgers?

Thomas' talent has never been in doubt, but the Diamondbacks designated him for assignment in May after he hit .181/.222/.340 over 28 games. Arizona then traded Thomas four days later to the Dodgers for teenage outfield prospect Joe Requena. At the time, the move felt more or less irrelevant. Thomas' play of late, however, may be changing the narrative.

A four-game sample size in MLB is tiny. But when you also examine what Thomas has done in the minors since joining LA, he's looking more like the player that used to start every day in center field for the D-backs.

Thomas hit 285/.351/.472 with seven homers and 40 RBI in 59 minor league games before LA recalled him in response to Pages' injury. Furthermore, Thomas has been outspoken in the press about how the Dodgers' staff has taken time to work with him on his swing. He's even described the team's developmental practices as futuristic, comments that surely made Diamondbacks fans cringe.

Arizona is doing more than okay with Ryan Waldschmidt, but Thomas' rejuvenation in Los Angeles still makes the Diamondbacks look bad. The optics are even worse considering it's a division rival.

Arizona was convinced that Thomas could no longer hit, but this may be developing into a classic change-of-scenery case, with the Diamondbacks' player development staff looking a little worse because of it. If the outfielder keeps producing throughout August and September, expect the conversation to get a bit louder.

Fans also might not see enough of Thomas to truly judge if he's "back". The Dodgers expect Pages to return before the end of the year. Neverthelss, Thomas has been a reliable stopgap thus far.

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