Prospect Spotlight: Yandy Diaz
After just his second season of pro ball, Yandy Diaz has put himself on the map as a possible future long term solution at third base in Cleveland. His consistency at the plate and successful transition to the hot corner have turned many heads, particularly in the last season in Double-A Akron. The IBI's Jake Dungan examines the Cuban native's breakout season and whether he's the future at the hot corner for the Tribe.
Third base has been a revolving door for the Indians in recent years with Jack Hannahan, Lonnie Chisenhall, Carlos Santana, Mike Aviles, Jose Ramirez and Giovanny Urshela taking reps at the hot corner since 2011. Heading into the 2016 season, Urshela is currently slated as the starter at third, although the Tribe is also exploring external options such as veterans Juan Uribe and David Freese. But what does the farm system have as far as future third base options?
Yandy Diaz was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Cuba in September of 2013. After playing for parts of three seasons with Villa Clara as part of of the Cuban National Series where he batted .277 with three homers and 41 RBI's in 131 games. His primary appeal from the beginning was his plate discipline as Diaz drew 65 walks versus 54 strikeouts in CNS play while posting a .412 on-base percentage. That trend continued in his first professional season in Single-A Carolina where the infielder posted a 35-49 strikeout-to-walk ratio with a .396 OBP in 338 plate appearances.
Unfortunately, a wrist injury cut Diaz's season short in 2014, so with only 76 professional games logged, he was still somewhat of an unknown when he reported to Double-A with the RubberDucks to start 2015. He wouldn't stay unknown for long, however, as by the end of May, following a mediocre start in April, Diaz was batting .292 with an impressive .394 OBP. He wasn't hitting for much power at that point with only four extra base hits, but his 29 walks against just 24 strikeouts were drawing more attention to his advanced plate approach.
Between May and August, Diaz batted .325 with seven home runs, 49 RBI's, 11 doubles, four triples and 50 runs scored in 111 games. He also maintained, and even improved, his plate discipline drawing 67 walks while only striking out 55 times, helping to add up to a superb .423 OBP. In that span, his monthly batting average only fell below .300 once (.295 in July) and his OBP never dropped below the .400 mark.
If that isn't impressive enough, through his Double-A campaign as a whole before being promoted to Columbus late in the year, the 24-year-old went back-to-back games without getting on base only twice with both coming within the same week's span in April. Plus, Diaz went hitless in back-to-back contests just four times in 132 games in Akron while going more than two games without a hit just once, which was a three-game span in July where he still drew two walks and scored a run in six at-bats.
Regardless of those impressive numbers, the question many were asking during the season and still continue to ask now is can Diaz hit for more power? With him being six-foot, two-inches and 185 pounds and playing a traditional power position, that question is understandable. My answer to you is yes he can and he can potentially do it without sacrificing his sound approach.
Why? Take a look at his August statistics. They were by far his best month as far as power and run production as he clubbed four home runs and six doubles in 27 games while knocking in 20 runs, giving him a much more respectable .529 slugging percentage. What's so remarkable is that August was also his best month in the batting and on-base department with a .356 and .447 slash line, respectively. Additionally, his walks were still ahead of his strikeouts at 16-14. In fact, between the All-Star break and his promotion to Triple-A, Diaz posted OPS of .872 compared to the .790 mark he had accumulated in the first half. If you want to measure his power splits specifically, he had an ISO of .153 in the second half compared to the .059 mark he compiled prior to the break.
It's also worth considering that Diaz played in a pitcher's park in Akron, which seemed to be especially unkind to hitters in 2015, as RubberDucks players and coaches often pointed out over the course of the season. There wasn't a considerable difference between his slugging percentage at home and on the road (.398 vs. .407), but six of his seven home runs did come away from Canal Park. Getting a longer look in the more hitting-friendly confines of Huntington Park in the upcoming season will hopefully put more of his power on display.
If there is one area Diaz needs to improve, it would be on the defensive side of the ball, which seems odd since he was voted the top defensive third baseman in the Eastern League in 2015 by managers and writers. His throwing mechanics were an area specifically addressed by Akron manager Dave Wallace as he pointed to a tendancy to not step into his throws and thus not having as good accuracy as he would otherwise. However, with Diaz's arm strength, it's not a major surprise that he's trying to muscle all his throws across the diamond. [ Can Any One Say Aramis Ramirez ??? ]
Diaz is currently being groomed as a third baseman, but he came out of Cuba as a utility player who played in the CNS as second baseman, but has also spent a lot of time in the outfield. His athleticism and arm strength were primarily what led to the Indians moving him to third base, as it is an area of need both in the farm system and in Cleveland. However, if the organization so chooses, Diaz can profile at multiple other positions if his long-term home winds up not being at the hot corner.
But for the time being, Yandy Diaz will remain the Indians' top third base prospect as he projects to begin the year with the Clippers. And if his plate discipline and offensive consistency persist and his power continues to develop, mark my words, you could be witnessing the rise of another very special player in Cleveland.
[ I Would Like To See The Indians Take More Interest In These Cuban Defectors. They Play In The Best Of Competitive Environments, Not Just In Their National League But In All Of The Highly Competitive International Venues. These Players Do Not Need A Lot Of Time In The Minor Leagues Before They Can Qualify For The Major League Scene As We All Have Seen ]
