Yainer Diaz finally unleashed the power Houston needs, blasting two homers on Tuesday and giving his team a huge 9-7 win over the Yankees. That multi-homer performance, his first of the year, illustrated exactly what the Astros catcher has been grinding on behind the scenes after a seriously rough offensive season so far.
The Numbers Were Ugly, Then The Bat Woke Up
Look, it’s been a tough run for Diaz. He’s been known for power, hitting 20 homers in two of the past three seasons, but this year his bat-first profile was missing its biggest weapon. He entered Wednesday with a career-high 55.5% ground-ball rate, way up from his career average of 48.8%. That meant his power potential was basically non-existent. Before Tuesday, his slugging percentage was a measly .392, which would have been his lowest ever for a full season. Not good for a guy whose whole deal is hitting dingers. He even missed about six weeks in the first half with an oblique injury, which definitely did not help.
But Tuesday was different. He pulled a sinker from right-hander Will Warren, inside but elevated, for his first bomb. Then he went the opposite way on an elevated four-seamer from left-hander Brent Headrick, a 356-foot shot. That two-homer night alone raised his slugging percentage by 30 points and his OPS by 40 points to .712. He literally jumped over his .701 OPS from last season. Diaz himself spelled out the change, saying, “Instead of hitting the top part of the ball, I’ve been working on hitting the lower part of the ball so I can elevate it better.” His best offensive month was July, with five home runs and an .891 OPS, but August had been brutal with a .489 OPS in 18 games before Tuesday. This explosion was vital.
Pitchers Knew His Weakness, But Now What?
It’s not just Diaz’s approach, though. Pitchers have been absolutely feasting on his weaknesses, too. He’s seeing a career-high 49.1% of total pitches this season in the bottom third of the zone or the two outside areas below the zone. Conversely, he’s seeing a career-low 31.9% of pitches in the top third or above the zone. That’s a huge difference! Manager Joe Espada confirmed what we all suspected, saying Diaz “can really handle those pitches when they stay up in the zone , two-seam fastball, four-seams up, hanging breaking balls.” It’s those sinkers down in the zone that induce the ground balls. Diaz even admitted, “I’m hitting some balls that the location is not favorable for me to be able to elevate the pitch.” He actually owns a .306 average and a .583 slugging on those high pitches, but they only made up 26% of his balls in play.
Christian Vázquez has been splitting catching duties pretty evenly in the second half, but everyone knows Diaz brings the higher offensive ceiling. With 30 games left in the season, and the Houston lineup needing all the production it can get, can Diaz really harness this new approach and keep those balls flying out of the park? Every swing from here on out is gonna matter big time for the team.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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