Sport: Baseball
Born: August 24, 1994
Town: Elizabeth, New Jersey
Alexander Reyes was born August 24, 1994 in Elizabeth, NJ. He was the youngest of three brothers. Alex was a standout in youth-league baseball and, by the time he was a junior at Elizabeth High School, he was throwing his fastball in the 90s. With the family struggling to make ends meet, however, they were unable to send Alex to tryouts for the top travel teams or for elite-level tournaments.
Fearing that he might end up as a low-level draft choice, Dignora and Tomas sent their son to live with his grandmother in the Dominican Republic. He was much more likely to attract the attention of scouts in the DR and, because the MLB draft did not extend to that country, he would be available to the highest bidder as a free agent. Alex moved in the middle of his senior year. One year later, in late 2012, he signed a $950,000 deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Ranked among the 100 Top Prospects in the minors, Alex played his first year of pro ball in the Appalachian League and worked his way up the Cards’ farm system. His breakout year was 2015, when he pitched in the Futures Game and struck out 162 batters in just over 100 innings. The team sent Alex to the Arizona Fall League for further seasoning, but he tested positive for marijuana and was suspended for 50 games.
Alex was reinstated in May of 2016 and played most of the year with the Cardinals’ AAA club in Memphis. He started the Futures Game in July and fanned four batters, and then got the call from to the big club the following month. Pitching in relief, Alex earned his first win against the Cubs and his first save against the Phillies.
After five scoreless relief appearances, Alex was handed the ball for his first start. He pitched well against the Oakland A’s but got into a jam in the 5th inning and was relieved by Zach Duke. Alex struck out 7 in his next start, against the Reds, and recorded another relief win with 4-plus innings of scoreless relief in a victory over the Cubs. The Cards, fighting for a playoff spot, continued to run Alex out as both a starter and reliever. He finished the year 4–1, with 52 strikeouts and a 1.57 ERA in 46 innings.
Alex touched triple-digits with his lively fastball as a rookie and his curveball also drew raves. However, he also demonstrated a lack of command at times, averaging a walk every other inning. Alex’s greatest asset was his stinginess when it came to the home run ball. In a game dominated by sluggers, he was not a pitcher who encouraged big swings.
Expectations for Alex were sky-high heading into 2017, but his career took an unexpected detour in Spring Training in 2017 when suffered a partial tear of his UCL and had to undergo Tommy John surgery.
When Alex returned to the field in 2018, he was a strikeout machine while building himself back up in the minors. He set a PCL record in a rehab start when he fanned 9 batters in a row. However, a lat injury suffered in his return to the majors ended his comeback season in June. After spending most of 2019 in the minors, Alex joined the Cardinals for the Covid-shortened 2020 season. He performed well, using his explosive fastball and sharp curve to dispose of enemy batters, although control was still an issue at times.
In 2021, the Cardinals named Alex their closer. At age 26, his 6’4” frame had filled out to 220 pounds and he overpowered hitters in the opening months of the season. He did not yield his first earned run until May 8 and had not blown a save heading into June. Although walks and wild pitches continued to make things interesting, it looked for all the world like Alex had finally fulfilled the immense potential he had shown a half-decade earlier. He was named to the 2021 All-Star Game and later in July set a record with the 24th consecutive save to start his career—breaking the mark set by LaTroy Hawkins.
Alex slowed down in the second half of 2021 and was eventually moved down into a set-up role for the Cardinals. He finished the year with 10 wins and 29 saves. He had a chance to become a postseason star when he got the ball in the 9th inning of the Wild Card Game against the Dodgers with the score knotted 1–1. He gave up a homer to Chris Taylor, ending the Cardinals’ season.
A frayed labrum sidelined Alex during Spring Training in 2022. The team opted to have the shoulder surgically repaired, ending his season before it began. Alex signed with the Dodgers over the winter, but his shoulder woes returned and he underwent another operation and missed 2023. The Dodgers released after the season.