WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2009
VSL:  272/372/409, 232 AB, 13 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 29 BB, 47 K, 3-7 SB

Diaz was the primary catcher on the Pirates’ VSL affiliate, which dominated the league.  He hit well considering it was his first season, with solid BB and K numbers.  He threw out 45% of opposing base stealers, while also playing a little at first.

2010
R:  218/280/310, 142 AB, 5 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 10 BB, 28 K, 0-2 SB

Diaz was the primary catcher in the GCL, getting about twice as much playing time as Joey Schoenfeld even though Schoenfeld hit much better.  Diaz struggled at bat, with weak plate discipline.  His defense was much better, as he threw out 41% of opposing base stealers.  The Pirates made it clear that they liked Diaz more than Schoenfeld (who has since been released) and that they think he’ll eventually hit.

2011
A:  221/279/328, 326 AB, 23 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 23 BB, 69 K, 6-7 SB

The Pirates jumped Diaz up to West Virginia, where he was the regular catcher.  He continued to struggle at the plate, with strike zone judgment that was marginal at best.  He hit LHPs decently (257/337/378), but couldn’t hit RHPs at all (210/261/313).  His best month was August, when he hit 269/310/433, which he followed by going 4-for-10 in September.  His CS% dropped to 22% and he had a lot of errors, 16 in 82 games.  He’s an aggressive catcher and doesn’t hesitate to try to catch runners off base, so that may have led to some of the errors.

Diaz played the 2011 season at age 20, which is a more or less ideal age for low A.  He’s obviously still pretty raw, but catchers tend to develop slowly and he has lots of time.  He seems to have the athletic ability to develop into a prospect and the Pirates will probably give him every chance.  He figures to be at Bradenton in 2012.