Unrelated to Yainer, but I heard a prospect guy saying Zach Dezenzo's 90th percentile exit velo this season is 108mph. That's some serious juice.
Can't believe I read in a scouting report a while back that his weakness was being able to catch up to the fastball. Yeah right. He has zero problem tagging any fastball they want to bring up there. Reminds me of Vinny Castilla. Good luck throwing him fastballs in the zone
I'm actually debating on dropping Wilson Contreras for Yainer in my Fantasy Baseball league. Keeping him on my watch list for now since Wilson is a top catcher. Maybe I'll try to trade Contreras away and pick up Yainer.
Been a long time since I've played fantasy baseball, but as long as BB% isn't an issue, Willson Contreras vs. Yainer Diaz should be a nice problem to have. Yainer should provide HRs, BA.
2 home runs against Rockies, and then 2 for 4 yesterday with an rbi and a run. And the 2 outs he had were both warning track loud outs.. I’m trying not to get prematurely excited, but he’s cutting down base stealers at a 40% clip and hitting like crazy. Is this what an all around catcher looks like?!?! We’ve never!
In case you were wondering: I got home at noon, took a shower, shampood my hair, all that. Put on clean clothes and went to the barbershop for my 1PM appointment, hair and beard looks brilliant. Got home, and she texted me that she forgot to water the garden and outdoor plants before she left town. So now I'm drenched in sweat again, gonna take another shower in a bit, and I still love her
You painted an artistic picture of your daily routine! This could be a Hallmark movie channel movie of the early 2000’s. “She forget everyday chores, and the man that loves her regardless!”
Small Sample Warning Yainer Diaz as a catcher wRC+ 174 OPS 1.105 As a C against RHP wRC+ 241 OPS 1.255 As a C against LHP* He makes Maldy look like Barry Bonds. *small sample that I think will get a lot better the more he sees LHPs. I knew Yainer hit better as a catcher than DH, but didn't realize it was this big a difference. Playing Yainer at C for Maldy against RHPs has been like adding two additional Yordans to the lineups (Diaz being 1.5 Yordans, and removing Maldy adding 0.5 Yordans). Granted, this is a small sample, but it helps explain why the offense goes nuts when Yainer plays catcher, and why the Astros are 9 games above 0.500 when Yainer starts at catcher (team is at 13 total).
He has 108 PA as a C, he's struck out 9% of the time. He has 113 PA as a DH/PH, he's struck out 26% of the time. As you said, it's certainly not a massive sample, but its pretty stark. One could come to the conclusion he has much more focused AB's when he's not sitting around all game.
Max EV is up 1 mph about a month later from this post to the 66th percentile. His 95th percentile is 107.7 which is about 75th percentile based on last year's data. The big thing is that he makes hard contact consistently.
Yainer Diaz learning under Martin Maldonado is invaluable experience. Martin Maldonado prepares as good as anyone in the league, the man is a coach that is still a player. If he can rub off his amazing game study preparation style onto Yainer Diaz, Yainer Diaz may end up being a perennial all-star and potential MVP candidate. One time I read that Maldonado reads the scouting reports with vigor and is able to relay a lot of in game information to the pitchers about the batters they are facing. Martin Maldonado isn’t very good offensively anymore, he’s not as good with arm anymore. But he’s better today at preparing his pitchers for the opposing team, as anyone in the league.
Says you. But clearly you know much more than the Astros organization. I want Maldy to be parked on the bench just like most, but there is simply too much evidence and too many witnesses and testimonials to dispute this. His issues are physical and age related only.
There is a name for this: COACH. It’s where people with knowledge (but who can’t play anymore) contribute. Make Maldy a coach, not a player, effective immediately! PROBLEM SOLVED
I seriously hope this happens in 2024. Immediately, there is about as much chance as him hitting an inside the park homerun. Besides if he is released or hurt, then Salazar replaces him and how much better is he?
Testimonials, yes. Evidence, no. Nothing in the public domain supports the idea that Maldy improves the performance of the pitchers when he catches, and certainly massive evidence exists that he decreases the offense. If the Astros have real evidence, it would be nice to see it. All we’ve heard is “RBIs are pretty close” and “pitchers really like him [but don’t pitch any better with him]”. Otherwise, “trust the org” is pretty weak argument … and one that assumes the “whole organization” is not just “Dusty’s instincts”
