This 33-Year-Old Veteran Still Isn’t Getting the Recognition He Deserves
Yandy Díaz continues to be one of the most productive and overlooked hitters in baseball.
Yandy Díaz is putting together another fantastic season with the Tampa Bay Rays. Through 81 games, he’s slashing .291/.347/.474 with 14 home runs, 39 runs scored, and 49 RBIs. He continues to show elite plate discipline with a 7.5% walk rate and just a 13.9% strikeout rate. That combination of elite bat-to-ball skills and a fantastic eye at the plate has led to a .354 wOBA, a 130 wRC+, and 1.8 fWAR. But as strong as his full-season numbers are, his recent stretch has been even more dominant. Over the last 30 days, Díaz leads all of Major League Baseball in wRC+ (218), fWAR (1.8), batting average (.408), wOBA (.480), and hard-hit balls (51). He’s also walking at an 11.0% clip while striking out just 12.7%. The only player who is near his wRC+ in that span is Juan Soto.
I wanted to highlight Díaz’s production since the start of 2022, and the results are just as impressive. Over the last 3.5 seasons, Díaz has been the 10th-best hitter in Major League Baseball by wRC+ (141), while ranking 5th in batting average (.300), 8th in OBP (.377), and 4th in total hard-hit balls (818). He pairs elite contact skills with legitimate power and one of the best overall approaches in Major League Baseball. His advanced profile is just as impressive: 96th percentile in average exit velocity (93.6 MPH), 96th percentile in hard-hit rate (55.2%), 89th percentile in squared-up rate (32.3%), and 85th percentile in whiff rate (17.7%).
Compared to last season, Díaz has elevated his game even further (closer or even better than his 2023 Batting Title season). He’s hitting the ball harder and in the air more often, with his average exit velocity up 1.4 MPH, barrel rate up 3.1% (a career high), hard-hit rate up 6.5% (also a career high), and xwOBA up by .040. His strikeout rate has dropped by 1.4%, now at its lowest since 2022. His batted ball profile still shows a slight increase in fly ball rate (+0.9) and a drop in his ground ball percentage, leading to more damage on the contact he can make at the dish. His ability to utilize the entire field remains the most notable aspect of his profile in my opinion, with a 41.1% Cent% (hitting the ball to the middle of the field) that has remained at that same rate for three consecutive seasons. He’s also crushing breaking balls more, with his batting average, xBA, SLG, xSLG, and wOBA all jumping significantly this season, along with a massive 6.4 MPH increase in average exit velocity against those pitches. I have the pleasure of watching him daily, and it’s remarkable to watch him improve his game!
I also wanted to highlight his Quality of Contact results, in addition to his standard advanced profile. His Ideal Contact Rate (43.2%) is tied for the best of his career, and his Ideal Plate Appearance Rate (33.6%) is the highest he’s ever posted, ranking in the 96th percentile. His rolling xwOBA charts and zone-by-zone performance show he's doing damage almost everywhere, especially in zones 5, 6, 8, and 9. Unless pitchers can jam him inside or live on the edges, there’s simply no easy way to get him out right now. At 33 years old, Yandy Díaz is performing like a star and deserves to represent the Rays alongside some of his other teammates in the All-Star Game in Atlanta.
Thank you for reading, and please make sure to subscribe to my Substack. It’s completely free! If you aren’t already, make sure to follow me on X @OPS_BASEBALL