Blaze Alexander Is Flashing Real Contact Quality — But You Can Wait
Blaze Alexander is hitting the ball harder than he has all year, and nobody is paying attention. At just 6% roster ownership with zero movement in the last seven days, the Baltimore utility man is generating a signal that no major fantasy outlet has picked up yet. WaiverScout has been tracking Alexander since late May, and the latest data suggests the bat is waking up again.
The Rolling Window Tells the Story
Over the last seven days, Alexander has posted a .296 AVG with a .303 wOBA across 29 plate appearances. That's a meaningful jump from his 30-day line of .250 AVG and .261 wOBA over 43 PA. The surface stats are improving, but the underlying quality metrics are what caught our algorithm's attention.
His hard-hit rate has climbed to 56.9% in the last seven days, up from 52.5% over the 14- and 30-day windows. His exit velocity has jumped to 94.2 mph from 91.8 mph. Those aren't small bumps — that's a player who's squaring the ball up with increasing authority. The 3-for-4 game on September 4th wasn't a fluke; the contact quality supports it.
The Concerns Are Real Too
Here's what keeps this a Watch instead of an add: Alexander's strikeout rate has actually ticked up in the last seven days. His K% sits at 24.1% over the recent window, compared to 20.9% over the broader 14- and 30-day samples. That's moving in the wrong direction. The walk rate of 6.9% in the last seven days is essentially flat with his 7.0% over 14 days — so the plate discipline hasn't improved alongside the contact quality.
And the power just isn't there yet. Zero home runs across all rolling windows. One stolen base. For a player with multi-position eligibility (2B, 3B, SS, OF), that flexibility is valuable, but he needs to contribute in counting stats to justify a roster spot in most formats.
WaiverScout Has Been Here Before
We first flagged Alexander back on May 27th as a Watch when he was barely rostered. By mid-June, the signal strengthened enough for back-to-back "add now" classifications, and ownership climbed to 15%. The production didn't sustain — we downgraded him to deprioritize on June 28th, and again on August 31st when the bat went cold. Ownership has since cratered back to 6%.
This is the pattern with Alexander: flashes of hard contact, enough to generate excitement, followed by stretches where the strikeouts and empty at-bats take over. The question now is whether September's surge in exit velocity represents a legitimate mechanical adjustment or another short-lived hot streak.
Positional Context
If you're looking at the middle-infield waiver wire, names like Mauricio Dubón, José Caballero, and Thomas Saggese occupy similar roster territory. Alexander's multi-position eligibility gives him a slight edge in formats that reward flexibility, but he needs to show sustained production — particularly power — to separate from the pack.
The Verdict: Watch
Don't add Blaze Alexander yet, but don't lose sight of him either. The exit velocity spike to 94.2 mph and 56.9% hard-hit rate over the last seven days are legitimate indicators of improved contact quality. The data is clear on that front. But the rising strikeout rate, zero power production, and a history of short-lived surges mean you need to see this hold for another week before committing a roster spot. If the hard-hit numbers sustain and a homer or two materialize, this becomes an add in deeper leagues. For now, Alexander stays on the watchlist — right where WaiverScout has had him circled since May.