The 25-year-old is the Astros’ leader in runs batted in with 71.
Catcher Yainer Díaz has been the card used by Puerto Rican manager Joe Espada to respond to the Houston Astros’ need for a player to provide protection to their main hitters in the middle of the team’s lineup.
After losing Kyle Tucker after 60 games and releasing Cuban Jose Abreu due to poor performance, the Dominican has been in charge of providing the offensive thrust in the middle of the batting order.
A responsibility he has fulfilled to date, hitting for a .362 average with men in scoring position, while providing protection for Venezuela’s Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Cuba’s Yordan Alvarez.
Diaz, the main reason the Astros let go of Puerto Rican catcher Martin Maldonado, who was the starter at the position, is not known for being a typical fourth-place hitter on offense, but for being an effective run-pusher.
The 25-year-old, in his second full season in the Major Leagues, is the Astros’ leader in runs batted in with 71.
Since the All-Star break, when the Astros (50-46) came within one game of the Mariners (52-46) in the race for first place in the American League West Division, Diaz has hit eight home runs in 31 games, one more than the seven he hit in 85 games in the first part of the campaign.
In doing so, he has helped the Houston ninth come away with wins in 38 of the 58 games he has played since then, batting .346 with 38 runs batted in, while Espada’s team has taken a 5.5-game lead over Seattle (64-64) at the top of its group (69-58).
Diaz has responded with an offensive balance of .303, with 15 home runs and 71 towed, this while guiding the pitching behind the plate, as recognized by his compatriot, left-hander Framber Valdez, who with the young catcher catching his pitches has a record of 8-0 and 2.39 in his last 10 appearances, in which the Astros have won.
Source:Diariolibre.com
