Welcome back to the D-backs Beat newsletter! Steve Gilbert has covered the D-backs since 1998. 

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- At the beginning of every spring, D-backs manager Torey Lovullo meets with each player individually -- from grizzled veterans to fresh-faced rookies -- to lay out what he expects to see from them during their time in big league camp.

When 24-year-old shortstop Blaze Alexander had his meeting, Lovullo gave him some things to focus on: “Show us that you're versatile and can play more than one position. Control the at-bats, control the zone, don't worry about hitting home runs, [focus on] gap-to-gap.”

Oh, and there was one other thing.

“Open our eyes,” Lovullo told him.

There are still almost three weeks of Spring Training remaining, but so far, it’s hard to argue that Alexander has not accomplished every single one of those things.

“It’s been an impressive camp, for sure,” Lovullo said.

Alexander, the team’s 11th-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, has shown his defensive versatility by playing short, second and third this spring. His bat has been outstanding, driving balls up the middle and to the gap in right-center field, compiling a .962 OPS in 26 at-bats.

“I think he's played very well,” D-backs GM Mike Hazen said. “His at-bat quality has been really good. I think he is doing a good job moving around the diamond.”

While Lovullo said there was a time in 2023 when the D-backs were looking for help at third base and Alexander, then at Triple-A Reno, was a candidate, it didn’t seem like coming into camp this year that there would be a spot for him on the Opening Day roster.

Geraldo Perdomo is the starter at shortstop, but the D-backs are in the market for a backup, and while Hazen spoke early in the spring about preferring that top prospect Jordan Lawlar and Alexander get regular at-bats rather than fill a backup role, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Alexander could force them to rethink things.

Alexander was in big league camp for the first time last year and soaked up the experience, but after putting up an .865 OPS with Reno in 2023, he spent the winter working out at Salt River Fields and came into camp this year intent on winning a job.

“Last year was more kind of getting my feet wet in big league camp,” Alexander said. “Last year, did I have much of a chance to make a team? At least to me it really didn't feel like it. But this year there's a totally different mentality coming into camp. I had a pretty good year in Triple-A and it's just, I feel like I'm ready for the next step.”

Both Hazen and Lovullo say that defense will be more important than offense when deciding on that backup infield spot. Hazen wants to make sure that Lovullo is comfortable playing the backup infielder at every position.

If he’s feeling the pressure, Alexander does a nice job of hiding it. Ranked by MLB Pipeline as the organization’s No. 20 prospect, he has an almost constant smile on his face as he goes about his day.

“I mean, you come here and our job is to hit a ball, throw a ball and catch it,” Alexander said. “How can you not have fun with it?”

And as far as the competition heating up as camp moves on?

“No doubt it's tightening up,” Alexander said. “It comes down to competing -- and I'm a competitor. And my goal since I got drafted is to get up to the big leagues. It's just something I want to do.”

• Merrill Kelly looked sharp in his first Cactus League outing.

• The inaugural Spring Breakout is a week from Saturday. Here’s a look at the D-backs roster and all you need to know about the game.

• Hats off to Sam Dykstra and our MLB Pipeline crew who worked hard to rank each team’s Top 30 prospects. Lawlar tops Arizona’s Top 30 list.

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