CJ Alexander DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Athletics rookie outfielder Denzel Clarke and infielder CJ Alexander will both take a seat for Thursday's contest on the road in Canada against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. Drew Avans is starting in center field and will bat seventh, while rookie Logan Davidson will man first base and bat ninth against Blue Jays right-hander Jose Berrios. Clarke, the team's No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline, has had a rough welcome to the big leagues after recently being called up for the first time, going 1-for-17 at the plate with no walks and 13 strikeouts in his first five games. In two starts at first base the last two games with prospect Nick Kurtz (hip) on the injured list, Alexander went 0-for-6 with three punchouts. Avans has a hit in his lone MLB at-bat, while Davidson has gone 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in his first three big-league games.

The Athletics optioned third baseman CJ Alexander to Triple-A Las Vegas. Alexander was competing for a depth role in the infield but will instead begin his 2025 campaign in the minor leagues. Last summer, Alexander made his MLB debut and tallied one hit across four games with the Kansas City Royals. Through 20 games in spring training, the 28-year-old has held an underwhelming .194/.326/.278 slash line with a 7:9 BB:K. However, Alexander performed well at the Triple-A level last season, which suggests he could be in contention to return to the big leagues early in the season. Across 94 games, Alexander posted an impressive .302/.361/.559 slash line with 27 doubles and 19 round-trippers. Fantasy managers in deeper AL-only formats should monitor his development as he could carry value if he can take the next step in the major leagues.

Athletics third baseman CJ Alexander (undisclosed) is back at third base and is batting eighth in the Cactus League game on Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Alexander is back in action after he was removed from Monday's spring game against the Chicago White Sox due to an undisclosed injury. Obviously, it wasn't a very serious one for the 28-year-old infielder. He will now resume his competition for one of the final position-player spots on the team's Opening Day roster. The left-handed hitter hasn't made a very good case for himself in 13 spring training games this year, as he's gone just 3-for-18 (.167) with two RBI, four walks and four strikeouts in 22 plate appearances. Alexander made his big-league debut in 2024 with the Kansas City Royals but went 1-for-8 with three K's in only four games.