In this month’s scouting notebook, I’m spotlighting three players who have had success in the first half of the season. First, I’ll break down Blaze Alexander, who is at the major-league level but still vying for an everyday position. Next, I’ll highlight recently promoted rising prospect Denzer Guzmán, and finally, I’ll take a look at Peter Lambert and his forecast for this season.All three of these players have made adjustments that are backing their performances, but I’ll discuss whether the adjustments are enough for these players to sustain success at the big-league level.Blaze Alexander, 3B, BALRight-handed hitter Blaze Alexander is having a breakout season with a .786 OPS, 22.2% strikeout rate and 46.4% hard-hit rate (up 3.2%). He’s already matched his number of doubles and triples from 2025 in 64 fewer plate appearances. But the biggest change isn’t his improved power, it’s better timing at the plate.What appears to be a very slight plate adjustment is having a major impact on Alexander’s results. Alexander detailed his adjustment to Andy Kostka at The Baltimore Banner. This season, Alexander is staying back longer and keeping his weight on his back hip, allowing him to better recognize pitches and reach pitches that were previously whiffs — his whiff rate is down 3.5% to a career-low 26.5%.Subsequently, he is striking out less — 10% less — and making the hardest contact of his career. His xSLG has improved from .374 in 2025 to .452 this season, and his average exit velocity is up 2 mph.Alexander’s performance against fastballs has also improved, and he’s seeing them at a career-high 62% rate. In 2025, he performed well against them, but his performance wasn’t backed by any underlying metrics, and he had a high tendency for swing-and-miss against high velocity. His .382 xSLG against them was much worse than his .426 SLG.This season, his .443 SLG is supported by a much stronger .477 xSLG, while his whiff rate versus fastballs has dropped to 22.6%. Based on previous results, opposing teams may have thought they could beat Alexander with the four-seamer, but he’s proving otherwise. Staying back a bit longer is preventing him from committing too early and allowing him a better chance to reach velocity.Despite the improvements, he won’t help anyone in the HR category. Alexander is a gap-to-gap hitter who hits line drives one-third of the time, and his ground-ball rate is 4% higher than league average. He has above-average speed, so he can accrue a lot of doubles and triples, but will only get it out of the park occasionally.Limiting factorsWhile Alexander has shown improvement in multiple areas, he still faces some obstacles. Though his whiff rate has improved against fastballs, it’s remained high against breaking and off-speed pitches. If pitchers start reducing the fastball usage as a response to Alexander’s success, he might have some trouble adjusting.