Jared Thomas (No. 8 PuRP) played in the Arizona Fall League last year and hit .302/.343/.524 through 17 games despite battling a hamate bone injury discovered late in the season. After the season ended, he got it repaired but then hit a snag with his recovery, resulting in him not making his 2026 debut until July 6 with the ACL Rockies.
Thomas played four games for the ACL team, including the championship game, before finally making his way back to Double-A Hartford. There, he played in 28 games and
managed to hit .270/.341/.405 with seven extra-base hits (three doubles and four homers), 15 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
That proved to be highlight of his season.
“The highlight was getting back up and playing,” Thomas said. “When the clock reset a couple times, you never see the light at the end of the tunnel. At least I didn’t. It’s the most I’ve ever spent away from the game, so I learned a lot. But the highlight was definitely getting back out and being in a good environment, going back to a clubhouse with a bunch of guys that I know. It was fun.”
During his recovery, Thomas had a lot of downtime. But it made him realize, “The game doesn’t stop for you.”
“The game doesn’t stop, no matter who you are, no matter what you’re going through,” he emphasized. “So just being diligent, going about your business every single day and really trusting the process — I think that was one thing that I learned. There’s a lot of time to think bad or good things. The more you can keep telling yourself the good, the easier it is. So I think patience was a big thing, and just a positive attitude.”
Luckily for Thomas, he had other rehabbing players to sympathize with and help him get through everything. Infielder Blake Wright was someone he leaned on.
“He was going through his own stuff, too, but he kept a great attitude about it and that forced me to do the same thing,” Thomas recalled. “So being able to have guys like that and other guys around the Complex going through the same struggles, I guess, really helped me out. So just being present in the moment and finding people who care.”
Coming into his second Fall League, Thomas had a clear plan.
“First and foremost, just getting back to being comfortable in the box,” he said. “[I’m] still going through a couple hiccups, but just getting more at-bats under my belt — some that I missed at the beginning of the year when I was out. So just feeling like myself in the box, just being more comfortable and then getting out of here healthy and good into a good offseason.”
This was something that Rockies senior director of player development, Chris Forbes, also emphasized about Thomas.
“Jared Thomas needs the at-bats desperately,” Forbes said in September, “and I know it’s kind of a relapse back into that league, but we just asked him, ‘Do you want to go to Puerto Rico? Do you want to go to the DR or Mexico? Or do you want to stay here?’ Because he really wants to lock in with our strength coaches, too, and we’re hosting on our side, so I think that’s huge.”
So far through 14 AFL games, Thomas is hitting .239/.327/.457 with three doubles, two triples, a home run and five stolen bases. Many of those stats were added this past week, as he went go 5-for-13 with four runs scored, two of his three doubles, both triples, nine RBI, two walks, four strikeouts and a stolen base. That was enough for him to be named among the AFL’s top performers for Week 3.
In addition to getting his swing back, Thomas is also having to adjust to the new outfield positioning rules that are being experimented with at Salt River Fields.
“It’s different, man. I think they’re trying to make the game more offensive, which is interesting to see,” he said.
“The gaps are bigger. Obviously, we’re playing a lot more shallow in the outfield, so it makes you definitely work a little bit harder in the outfield. You’ve got to be on top of your game. Everybody in center, right, left… they’re all going to be center fielders at the end of the day. You’re going to have to have some speed and have good reads on the ball. It’s cool that they’re experimenting with different rules like that. I don’t really have any good or bad feelings about it.”
Thomas is also looking forward to getting back on the field and interacting with fans, as he’s very “personable.”
“I enjoy having conversations with people, especially kids when they come up to [me],” he said. “I was one of those kids. I loved the game growing up, and I loved being able to have a chance of talking to a kid that was playing professional baseball, so I look forward to those conversations. I’m a pretty open book. I like when guys come up and ask questions.”
There’s one fan in particular that he’s built a great relationship with in Hartford.
“There was this guy – I don’t really recall his name – in Hartford, even last year and going into this year when I showed back up, I always did a really good job of signing for him. And he would trade me Josh Hamilton baseball cards,” he said. “That was my hero growing up. So (I’ll) sign a couple cards for him, give him some broken bats, and he’s always tightening me up with some Josh Hamilton cards.”
But most of all, Thomas is, “excited to feel good again in the box.”
“I know I’m close. I feel like I’m getting closer by the day. So just being able to go up there with, like, uber confidence and going up there (with) just I mean true belief in what’s going on. I’m ready to feel really, really, really good again.”
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