Yusniel Diaz 2022

[UMDTerrapins]

That’s right, he’s healthy and he gets his own thread. Had a 1.250 OPS in spring training and starting off the season with a bang. Nobody will trust anything he does anytime soon, but the tools have always been there. 

https://twitter.com/BSLOnTheVerge/status/1512102521669656579?s=20&t=c0wM4ZerO_U4onhR-T7CoQ

 

[Tony-OH]

He's had a nice start no doubt statistically in the first two games. However, in the 8th inning last night though, he made a poor swing decision that actually ended up becoming an RBI single. So how was it a bad decision if it ended up with a good result?

Well I'm glad you asked. In that inning, the pitcher was clearly having control problems walking the first batter on 4-pitches then hitting Jahmai Jones on a first pitch curveball that nicked him.

So knowing the pitcher is having control problems by throwing 5 straight balls, and down by I believe-runs, you would imagine either Diaz is sitting dead red on a fastball down the middle or taking. 

So the pitcher throws him a first pitch breaking ball that was down and away a bit, but instead of taking he swings at it, getting out in front of the pitch and knocking a bouncing ball to the left side. Luckily for him it was one of those "ground ball with eyes" and it snuck through between the 3B and SS but a few inches more to the left would have been a tailored made 5-4-3.

Regardless of the outcome, it highlights part of the problem he's always had despite his talent and tools. At least in this case, on the first pitch, the plan should not be to swing and pull and down and away breaking pitch.

A big part of the Orioles philosophy on hitting has been to make "good swing decisions." That requires the hitter to have a plan at the plate. Now there are times (especially with two strikes) that a hitter has to go into see ball, hit ball mentality, but that shouldn't be on the first pitch of your at bat after the pitcher just walked a guy on 4-pitches and hit a guy on the first pitch. 

Diaz has the tools and talent to be a good major league player, but he's had a lot of time to develop a plan at the plate and understand the situation at hand. Either way, it something to keep an eye on as Diaz plays this year. If and when he plays in the majors, the stuff and command gets a lot better and without a good understanding of what they are trying to do with you, it's going to be extremely difficult to find sustained success at the major league level.

[Tony-OH]

Not to take away anything that i said before, but holy crap he just hit a moonshot home run to left field on a belt high fastball! At least he's not missing the mistakes this year so far!

[waroriole]

14 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Not to take away anything that i said before, but holy crap he just hot a moonshot home run to left field on a belt high fastball! At least he's not missing the mistakes this year so far!

Holy crap. He launched this one. 
 

 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

Just now, waroriole said:

Holy crap. He launched this one. 
 

 

It would be a pleasant surprise if Diaz forces his way onto the MLB roster this season. 

[yark14]

Looks like he is playing himself into shape as well.  At the beginning of camp he looked like he had put on a fair amount of weight during the offseason.

[Tony-OH]

7 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

It would be a pleasant surprise if Diaz forces his way onto the MLB roster this season. 

So far he's doing EXACTLY what he was supposed to do. He may not always good swing decisions, but he's murdering pitches in the zone right now.

[interloper]

Just stay healthy big guy... 

My fear about him, and there's no evidence to support this really, is that he'll do really well early on in Norfolk, but then there's no real room yet in the bigs and he gets kind of bummed and starts to slip. He strikes me as a guy who needs the big stage, but again, I think I feel like that mostly from his propensity to have great spring trainings, and then flounder in AAA. No way of knowing if that's true. By all accounts he's a hard worker. I really want to see him get his shot. 

[interloper]

20 minutes ago, waroriole said:

Holy crap. He launched this one. 
 

 

Got a little Vlad Sr. in that swing eh?

[jabba72]

Diaz hit a lineout to RF in this game also.  He's in the zone like at no other time in his career.

[UMDTerrapins]

40 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

So far he's doing EXACTLY what he was supposed to do. He may not always good swing decisions, but he's murdering pitches in the zone right now.

Both HR today on hanging off-speed pitches. He looks really comfortable up there. Not getting ahead of myself yet, but he's quickly made himself someone to keep an eye on this year. Could we be so lucky to have Diaz, Kjerstad, and Baumler start showing big results? 

[Tony-OH]

3 minutes ago, UMDTerrapins said:

Both HR today on hanging off-speed pitches. He looks really comfortable up there. Not getting ahead of myself yet, but he's quickly made himself someone to keep an eye on this year. Could we be so lucky to have Diaz, Kjerstad, and Baumler start showing big results? 

Step one, get Kjerstad and Baumler on a field that matters playing baseball.

As for Diaz, he certainly is not missing mistakes an that second home run today was a sight to see. Majestic!

[emmett16]

He looks much more fit & the Bat speed looks legit.  Good night that was a bomb.  

[byrdz]

Monster shots!

[Jammer7]

On 4/7/2022 at 2:52 PM, Tony-OH said:

So far he's doing EXACTLY what he was supposed to do. He may not always good swing decisions, but he's murdering pitches in the zone right now.

Yep, but your earlier post is also exactly why he isn’t St. Pete with the big club. Spot on post. Those swing decisions are important. That said, if Santander doesn’t get his act together quickly, Stowers, or maybe Diaz, could be there sooner than later.