Yilber

Diaz

Diaz was sent down to make room on the active roster for Arizona to activate Ryne Nelson. He had a 3.81 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 19 strikeouts in seven appearances with the Diamondbacks.

Diaz is only expected to miss one or two starts at Triple-A Reno due to the issue, but it takes him out of the mix for at least a couple weeks for a potential emergency spot start in the big leagues. The 23-year-old rookie has been excellent so far for the Diamondbacks with a 4.05 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 14/8 K/BB ratio across 20 innings (four starts).

Díaz threw five scoreless innings Sunday, so this move comes as a surprise. He was effective in three of his four starts for the Diamondbacks, though the other was bad enough to leave him with a 4.05 ERA. He might get another shot at some point, but the Diamondbacks do have Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez on the way back in the coming weeks.

The 23-year-old right-hander struggled with his command and had to battle a bit throughout the outing, but the only hit that he allowed was a leadoff single to Andrew McCutchen to start the ballgame. Diaz got nine swings and misses on 79 pitches on the day, registering a respectable CSW of 29 percent. He’ll look to carry over the momentum from this strong start as he brings a 4.05 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and a 14/8 K/BB ratio (20 innings) into Saturday’s rematch against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

Diaz gave up nine hits, walked one and struck out zero. The Diamondbacks staked Diaz to a 3-1 lead in the third inning, but he came undone in the third and fourth innings. Diaz allowed three runs in the third inning on an RBI single by Vinnie Pasquantino and a two-run home run by Salvador Perez. In the fourth inning, he allowed a single to Maikel Garcia, an RBI double to Kyle Isbel, and a single to Adam Frazier before he was removed. Diaz was responsible for the two base runners who scored on Bobby Witt Jr.’s three-run home run that followed. In all, it was a disaster of a start for Diaz. He has a 5.40 ERA on the year now. The 23-year-old right-hander is set to face the Pirates at home this weekend, but he’s off the fantasy radar at the moment.

Nelson will take the ball at Wrigley Field to be followed by Zac Gallen and Brandon Pfaadt for the rest of the weekend road series. It’ll be interesting to see whether Arizona sticks with rookie Yilber Diaz for the remainder of the second half, especially with Jordan Montgomery (knee) due back at some point in the near future.

Diaz was nearly flawless against Toronto’s struggling lineup in his second big-league start, keeping them off the scoreboard with the exception of a run-scoring sacrifice fly to Alejandro Kirk in the second inning following a one-out triple by former Diamondbacks standout Daulton Varsho. He struck out two and also issued a pair of walks. The 23-year-old righty wasn’t overpowering in this one, as evidenced by just five swinging strikes and a lackluster 24 percent CSW, yet he was able to avoid major damage by limiting the Blue Jays to just a pair of extra-base hits on 10 batted balls with an exit velocity over 95 mph. The minor league numbers have been excellent, and Diaz looks like he’s going to get an extended opportunity for the Diamondbacks after the All-Star break over pedestrian options like Slade Cecconi and Ryne Nelson, but it’s difficult to trust him completely outside of deeper mixed leagues at this juncture. We’re intrigued by the impressive raw stuff, but he’s giving up a lot of hard contact and isn’t missing a ton of bats at the moment, which are some pretty glaring warning signs.

Cecconi heads back to the minors after allowing three runs over four innings on Wednesday against the Braves in his final start prior to the All-Star break. Arizona isn’t going to need a fifth starter again until the end of the month, so he’ll head back to the minors for now. The 25-year-old righty holds an inflated 6.14 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 53/14 K/BB ratio across 66 innings (14 appearances, 13 starts) this season in the big leagues. It’s entirely possible that rookie Yilber Diaz will stick in the majors over Cecconi moving forward, but that decision likely won’t be made for a couple weeks.

Diaz gave up a homer to Austin Riley in the first, but he was pretty great afterwards in striking out five and walking one. He’ll remain in the Arizona rotation and face the Blue Jays on Saturday, Mixed-league value seems unlikely, but he’s definitely worth a look in NL-only leagues.

He’ll make his major league debut tonight against the Braves. Diaz, 23, had a 4.03 ERA and a 105/38 K/BB ratio in 76 innings in between Double- and Triple-A. Control issues could make it difficult for him to last as a starting pitcher, but he has a strong arm and two legitimate breaking balls. If he doesn’t make it as a starter, he’ll probably be very good in relief.