Yainer

Diaz

No runs batted in for Diaz today, as Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez combined to go 0-for-9 in front of him. Diaz has eight hits in his last four games.

Diaz had a two-run single in the third inning and a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning. He has 19 RBI in his last 23 games. Diaz is hitting .300 with a .778 OPS and 78 RBI on the year. He’s one of the better hitting catchers in fantasy.

The hard-hitting 25-year-old backstop went back-to-back with teammate Alex Bregman, pulverizing a first-pitch sweeper from Burch Smith for his 455-foot (111.4-mph EV) solo shot that increased the Astros’ advantage to 5-3. That would be his only hit in five at-bats on the night, but it was hit so far that it should have counted as two. On the season, Diaz is now hitting .301/.327/.462 to go along with 17 long balls and 72 RBI.

When asked after the game on Wednesday about his ability to play the field regularly from here on out, Bregman said, “It’s going to be one of those things to take day by day and see how it feels the rest of the year.” The veteran admitted that his right elbow is still not at 100 percent. “Some little gremlins in there are causing some swelling that I’m just going to have to try to mitigate through the rest of the year and keep the swelling out.” Bregman doesn’t feel much pain when he swings, so he would likely be able to DH when he’s not at third base, but if that were the case, manager Joe Espada would be forced to play Yordan Alvarez daily in left field and trust one of Shay Whitcomb or Zach Dezenzo to man third base. It would also mean he would need to play Yainer Diaz at first base if he wants to get his bat in the lineup more often. There are a lot of moving pieces here, but it’s something to keep an eye on moving forward.

Diaz’ home run was his 14th of the season. He belted a walk-off home run against Kenley Jansen in the bottom of the ninth inning. Diaz now has four home runs in his last 10 games. His slugging percentage is down from last year when he hit 23 home runs in 104 games, but he’s shown this year is bat is legitimate. Diaz is hitting .299 with a .781 OPS and 70 RBI on the year.

Diaz’ home run was his 13th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Ky Bush in the sixth inning to give the Astros the lead. It’s his third home run in his last nine games. Diaz is hitting .298 with a .774 OPS and 69 RBI on the year.

Diaz will make his first start at the cold corner this season after making seven starts there last year for the Astros. The 25-year-old backstop, who is in the midst of a scorching-hot stretch at the dish of late, has been outstanding this season, batting .299 (124-for-415) with 12 homers and 66 RBI across 107 games. The biggest development here for fantasy purposes is that Houston doesn’t appear ready to hand over a full-time role to top prospect Zach Dezenzo just yet.

Diaz gave Houston a commanding five-run lead by taking Rays starter Taj Bradley deep in the third inning for his 12th big fly of the season. The 25-year-old backstop has been a real surprise in the batting average department this season, hitting .299 (124-for-415) while also chipping in the occasional homer. He’s gone deep five times over his last 30 games, while also batting .350 (42-for-120) during that span.

Diaz’s home run was a sight to behold, clearing the Green Monster by a good margin through rain and wind. He’s the only qualified catcher with a batter average above .300 and looks to be every bit the breakout bat he was dubbed as before the season.

Diaz was DHing with Victor Caratini catching tonight. It’s an arrangement we’ll likely see more of after the Astros failed to add a bat before the deadline. It’s definitely a good thing for Diaz’s value; the Astros aren’t down on him as a catcher, but with Caratini performing like a regular, there’s room for both right now. The Astros might eventually recall César Salazar to provide more flexibility in using both Diaz and Caratini at the same time.