Yusniel Diaz was the headliner of last week’s deal that sent Manny Machado to the Los Angeles Dodgers with the Baltimore Orioles receiving four prospects in return from LA. Diaz, who is just 21-years old, comes into the Orioles system as their number two overall prospect behind infielder Ryan Mountcastle. With Baltimore in the midst of a total rebuild, Diaz has the opportunity to get to the big leagues sooner rather than later. He has all the potential to blossom into a star at Camden Yards.
High Ceiling
Diaz put his talents on display at All-Star weekend a couple weeks ago when he hit two homers in the Futures game. He squared up two mid 90s fastballs, cranking one into right-center field bleachers, then hitting the second one to dead center, going to the deepest parts of Nationals Park both times.
Diaz has really had a breakout year so far this season in Double-A. Before the trade, Diaz was playing for the Dodgers Double-A affiliate, the Tulsa Drillers. The outfielder was hitting .314 with six homers and 30 RBI for Tulsa. He really put his name out there after his outstanding performance at the Futures game. It might take a little bit of time for Diaz to get used to Bowie, the Orioles Double-A affiliate because he’s going from the Texas League to the Eastern League, two very different leagues.
Loud Tools
Diaz has changed his approach at the plate a lot this season, eliminating a big leg kick that he used in 2017. Now, he loads his hands back slightly and just uses a light toe tap instead of the sporadic leg kick. It’s really helped him square up the ball more consistently this season, evident by his average and amount of extra-base hits. He is keeping it simple at the plate, and it’s paying off.
Last season in 31 games with Tulsa, Diaz started to change his approach and saw his average jump up to .333 in his time with the Drillers. He is being a lot more patient at the plate and waiting for a pitch that he can drive into the gaps. Diaz has an extremely quick bat, using a short, compact stroke to destroy baseballs. He’s also drawing a lot more walks this season. Last year, in 114 games between Single-A and Double-A, Diaz walked just 45 times in 114 games. This season, in 65 games, he has 44 walks. He’s really matured as a hitter in just a short period of time.
Defensively, the 21-year old has an above-average range in center field thanks to some great athleticism and agility. He can get to a lot of balls hit into the alleys because he is very quick on his feet. Diaz also has a great arm in center field. Despite having good speed, he has struggled to steal bases in his pro career. He gets caught stealing quite often, so that is a category of his game that could use some work.
How long till he’s in Baltimore?
He is 21, and in a day and age where we see a lot of young players making their mark in the big leagues, it might not be long till we see Diaz in Baltimore. If he can keep up his offensive prowess in Bowie, he could get the call up to Triple-A Norfolk and finish out the season there.
Baltimore may have given up their star player in Machado, but with them sitting at the bottom of the AL East for the last couple years, it’s time for the Orioles to start over. Yusniel Diaz could be a really big centerpiece of this rebuild. They already have a lot of top end arms in their minor league system, so adding an offensive piece like Diaz to their organization could turn out to be a great move for Baltimore.
Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images
