A.J. Alexy

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Texas Rangers #27 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Alexy was originally chosen by the Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2016 draft. He was traded to Texas a year later with infielder Brendon Davis in exchange for righthander Yu Darvish. A lat strain limited Alexy to just five games in 2019, and he spent the 2020 season working out in Arizona before getting on the mound at instructional league. He was added to the 40-man roster before the 2021 season and made his big league debut on Aug. 30.
  
  Scouting Report: The biggest keys to Alexy’s success in 2021 were the reshaping and shortening of his arm circle, which led to more consistency in his delivery, and significant weight loss without sacrificing arm strength. Alexy worked primarily with a mid-90s fastball with above-average spin and excellent vertical break. He backed the fastball with his signature high-70s, 12-to-6 curveball as well as a mid-80s changeup. The newest pitch in his arsenal is a slider in the low 80s that showed solid results. He showed improved control in the minors but posted a 1-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in the big leagues.
  
  The Future: Alexy bounced between starting and relieving in the minors and made four starts in the big leagues. If he is to remain a starter he’ll have to significantly improve his control. Otherwise, he fits as a multi-inning reliever.
  
• 
  Ranked Texas Rangers #28 prospect in 2021
  TRACK RECORD: One of three players acquired from the Dodgers in the Yu Darvish trade, Alexy made only five starts for low Class A Hickory in 2019 before he suffered a season-ending strained lat and received a platelet-rich plasma injection. He was not invited to the alternate training site in 2020, but showed enough during instructional league that the Rangers added him to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Alexy's bread and butter is his 94-98 mph fastball with big vertical movement. When his curveball is right, it's a nasty pitch with big 12-to-6 break. The pitch doesn't always hold its shape, but it's his best secondary offering. Alexy also has a feel for a fringy but usable changeup. Whether he can improve his below-average control will make or break Alexy's bid to be a starter. He impressed the Rangers with the dedication he showed during the shutdown, staying in Arizona to work on the mechanical side of things and also gain a better understanding of how to pitch.
  
  THE FUTURE: Alexy will continue starting for now. His future is likely as a reliever, where his power fastball-curveball combination could be devastating in short bursts.
• 
  Ranked Texas Rangers #22 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: Alexy was an over-slot sign in the 11th round of the 2016 draft, with the Dodgers signing him for $597,500. In the midst of Alexy's first full season, the Dodgers traded him along with Willie Calhoun and infielder Brendon Davis to the Rangers for Yu Darvish at the 2017 trade deadline.
  
  Scouting Report: Switching from the Midwest League to the South Atlantic League, Alexy repeated the low Class A level in 2018, showing swing-and-miss stuff with erratic ability to harness it in the strike zone. Alexy pitches at 91-94 mph and can reach 96, with the movement to get empty swings up in the zone. His best pitch is a curveball that flashes plus, with a slight grip tweak in-season that helped. While the Rangers place a heavy emphasis on fastball command for their lower-level pitchers, the data they had on Alexy's breaking ball prompted them to encourage Alexy to throw it more often. He made progress with his changeup at the end of the season, and the pitch has average potential. Alexy struck out 31 percent of batters, but he also struggles to throw his fastball for strikes, leading to a high walk rate.
  
  The Future: If Alexy can improve his control, he has the potential to be a back-end starter or better, but his strike-throwing issues create significant risk of him moving to the bullpen. High Class A Down East is up next.
• 
  Ranked Texas Rangers #25 prospect in 2018
  Alexy was committed to Radford, but the Dodgers lured him away with a $597,500 signing bonus as an 11th-round pick in 2016. The Dodgers kept a restrictive workload on Alexy, who threw more than five innings for them just once last season before they sent him to the Rangers at the trade deadline along with Willie Calhoun and infielder Brendon Davis in the Yu Darvish deal. Alexy has a full windup with an aggressive, up-tempo delivery. It's made it difficult for him to repeat his mechanics and throw strikes, but he also misses a lot of bats with a 29 percent strikeout rate in 2017. Alexy isn't overpowering, but he can get swings-and-misses with a low-90s fastball and with his best pitch, a curveball that flashes plus. He shows feel for a changeup, though that's still below-average. Alexy is athletic and he's added 15 pounds since joining the Rangers, so the additional strength could potentially help him keep his delivery together more consistently. Throwing more strikes will be key for Alexy, who should move up to high Class A Down East in 2018 and could eventually slot in to the back of a rotation.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #327 prospect in 2016 draft
  Alexy pitched mostly in the upper 80s prior to an offseason spike in velocity. He was on some scouts' radars during the summer and fall, but everyone knew about him after a strong showing at the Maplezone Invitational in January, where showed off a live, loose arm. Alexy has a sturdy 6-foot-4, 195-pound frame with wide shoulders and room for additional muscle. He has a clean arm action with arm speed that indicates future velocity gains. His fastball has been mostly 88-92 this spring, and he's flashed the ability to locate his changeup down in the zone. His curveball shows top-to-bottom action, but it will need more power to develop into an average offering, though it flashes tight spin currently. Alexy has shown potential for three pitches and a pro body, traits indicative of a future starter. He is committed to Radford.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked South Atlantic League #19 prospect in 2018
  The Rangers acquired Alexy from the Dodgers in last symmer's Yu Darvish trade and he proved to be one of the SAL's most overpowering pitchers in a second try at low Class A. He ranked fourth in the SAL with 138 strikeouts, second with 11.5 strikeouts-per-nine innings, and finished the season with back-to-back 10 strikeout outings. Drafted out of Pennsylvania, Alexy is a cold-weather arm who has grown into velocity. He sat in the upper 80s in high school with a senior year bump to 88-92 mph. Now he sits 91-94 and touches 96 with a fastball that has armside life. Alexy packs raw power but still needs plenty of work. His command of his fastball and curveball both need significant improvement, although both his changeup and curveball show the potential to become average pitches. He has the body to continue to get stronger and potentially throw even harder, but it's all going to depend on him developing from a thrower into a pitcher.

• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Alexy was originally chosen by the Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2016 draft. He was traded to Texas a year later with infielder Brendon Davis in exchange for righthander Yu Darvish. A lat strain limited Alexy to just five games in 2019, and he spent the 2020 season working out in Arizona before getting on the mound at instructional league. He was added to the 40-man roster before the 2021 season and made his big league debut on Aug. 30.
  
  Scouting Report: The biggest keys to Alexy’s success in 2021 were the reshaping and shortening of his arm circle, which led to more consistency in his delivery, and significant weight loss without sacrificing arm strength. Alexy worked primarily with a mid-90s fastball with above-average spin and excellent vertical break. He backed the fastball with his signature high-70s, 12-to-6 curveball as well as a mid-80s changeup. The newest pitch in his arsenal is a slider in the low 80s that showed solid results. He showed improved control in the minors but posted a 1-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in the big leagues.
  
  The Future: Alexy bounced between starting and relieving in the minors and made four starts in the big leagues. If he is to remain a starter he’ll have to significantly improve his control. Otherwise, he fits as a multi-inning reliever.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: One of three players acquired from the Dodgers in the Yu Darvish trade, Alexy made only five starts for low Class A Hickory in 2019 before he suffered a season-ending strained lat and received a platelet-rich plasma injection. He was not invited to the alternate training site in 2020, but showed enough during instructional league that the Rangers added him to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Alexy's bread and butter is his 94-98 mph fastball with big vertical movement. When his curveball is right, it's a nasty pitch with big 12-to-6 break. The pitch doesn't always hold its shape, but it's his best secondary offering. Alexy also has a feel for a fringy but usable changeup. Whether he can improve his below-average control will make or break Alexy's bid to be a starter. He impressed the Rangers with the dedication he showed during the shutdown, staying in Arizona to work on the mechanical side of things and also gain a better understanding of how to pitch.
  
  THE FUTURE: Alexy will continue starting for now. His future is likely as a reliever, where his power fastball-curveball combination could be devastating in short bursts.
• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: One of three players acquired from the Dodgers in the Yu Darvish trade, Alexy made only five starts for low Class A Hickory in 2019 before he suffered a season-ending strained lat and received a platelet-rich plasma injection. He was not invited to the alternate training site in 2020, but showed enough during instructional league that the Rangers added him to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Alexy's bread and butter is his 94-98 mph fastball with big vertical movement. When his curveball is right, it's a nasty pitch with big 12-to-6 break. The pitch doesn't always hold its shape, but it's his best secondary offering. Alexy also has a feel for a fringy but usable changeup. Whether he can improve his below-average control will make or break Alexy's bid to be a starter. He impressed the Rangers with the dedication he showed during the shutdown, staying in Arizona to work on the mechanical side of things and also gain a better understanding of how to pitch.
  
  THE FUTURE: Alexy will continue starting for now. His future is likely as a reliever, where his power fastball-curveball combination could be devastating in short bursts.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: One of three players acquired from the Dodgers in the Yu Darvish trade, Alexy made only five starts for low Class A Hickory in 2019 before he suffered a season-ending strained lat and received a platelet-rich plasma injection. He was not invited to the alternate training site in 2020, but showed enough during instructional league that the Rangers added him to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Alexy's bread and butter is his 94-98 mph fastball with big vertical movement. When his curveball is right, it's a nasty pitch with big 12-to-6 break. The pitch doesn't always hold its shape, but it's his best secondary offering. Alexy also has a feel for a fringy but usable changeup. Whether he can improve his below-average control will make or break Alexy's bid to be a starter. He impressed the Rangers with the dedication he showed during the shutdown, staying in Arizona to work on the mechanical side of things and also gain a better understanding of how to pitch.
  
  THE FUTURE: Alexy will continue starting for now. His future is likely as a reliever, where his power fastball-curveball combination could be devastating in short bursts.