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Elias Diaz Hitting Stride as His Season is Just Beginning

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INDIANAPOLIS — Off days are few and far between, as the temperatures rise and the daily routine turns into a grind.

Well, for most players minus one notable exception: Elias Diaz.

He’s just getting started, not playing in a game this season until making a rehab start in Bradenton on July 4th. Diaz was put on the 60-day disabled list after needing surgery to repair his right elbow.

“Realistically this is Spring Training for him,” Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor said. “You can go on a rehab, but it’s always a short rehab.”

The timing most hitters develop at the plate in Spring Training is hard to emulate during the rehabilitation process. Nothing but time will solve that problem and Diaz hasn’t had a whole lot of it yet this season.

Diaz has played in 25 games this season, but nine of those were during rehab assignments in Altoona and Bradenton. He’s caught 16 games with Triple-A Indianapolis, but even those have been interrupted with a brief three-day promotion to the Pirates in which he played a game. And he’s been on the taxi squad on two separate occasions recently.

Not surprisingly, his production at the plate was slow at the beginning. His slash line during seven games with Indianapolis in July was a meager .154/.214/.192. But just a little bit of time to adjust has made a sizable difference, as Diaz has a line of .375/.394/.375 in nine games this month. He’s had multiple hits in four of his last eight games and his OPS has risen from .407 in July to .769 this month.

“I want to be a good hitter and I know I am,” Diaz said. “I want to get back to my approach — hit to the middle of the field and hit the ball hard.”

Diaz struggled at first due to a lack of seeing live pitching in game situations, and he was pulling the ball too much. He took the early struggles at the plate in stride, seeing the bigger picture.

“I’ve been working hard every day and have to because I had four months where I didn’t hit or see pitching,” Diaz said. “At this level it’s not easy to hit, but I’ve got to be good. I don’t worry right now, I just try to give my best.”

Indianapolis has two very good defensive catchers on its roster with Diaz and Jacob Stallings. Pitchers like throwing to both of those players, but there’s one main difference: Diaz is much more of an offensive threat at the plate. Stallings is hitting .197 this season and his offense will likely hold him back. But Diaz has shown he can be a viable bat in the lineup, hitting .271 in 325 at-bats with Indianapolis last year.

“He won’t be a middle of the lineup guy, but I think he’s going to be a run producer,” Treanor said. “If his approach is gap-to-gap he will be fine up there. When he gets into a pull mode he will have trouble.”

Diaz has looked comfortable behind the plate, but more importantly, he’s also been effective. And that is what is intriguing about Diaz, because he’s still works to hit his full stride after the time off.

“A lot of people can’t tell where he’s at because there is a lot of abilities back there,” said Indianapolis coach Miguel Perez, who works with the catchers. “We know there is a lot of room to improve still, talking about performance-wise this year. Right now, not everybody can tell if he’s 100 percent right now. We know he’s not. Like Dean said, this is like Spring Training, but we’re going to see a lot more from him.”

The pitching staff is comfortable with Diaz behind the plate for two simple reasons: his blocking ability and his arm.

“With that arm he’s going to get a lot of people out,” Perez added.

Diaz has improved his footwork, becoming more fluid between the upper and lower half of his body. That enables him to release the ball quicker and his arm takes care of business from that point.

“He has been a lot better with his footwork and has come a long way,” Perez said. “He used to be a little long when he was younger.”

The numbers in Indianapolis this season prove the evaluation by Perez is spot on. Diaz has thrown out seven of the 10 runners who have tried to steal on him.

“All of his throws have been right there,” Treanor said. “You just want them to keep running.”

Treanor was most impressed by one runner Diaz threw out on a botched hit-and-run play. The batter swung and missed at a ball in the dirt.

“The ball is in the dirt, picks it, comes up, and throws it right there,” Treanor said.

The way Diaz looks to connect with the pitching staff seems simple. But the execution level in which he does so is what makes him a top prospect at the position. And that goes beyond throwing runners out, but in smaller moments like picking the right time to make a mound visit.

“I try to be on the same page, block every ball, give a good target, and try to have good communications and good relationships,” Diaz said.

Diaz is quickly hitting his stride offensively after missing a majority of the season recovering from surgery. He’s performing well offensively and his defensive numbers show runners don’t have success running against him. All of that put together makes it easy to see why Diaz ranks highly in the future plans for the Pirates.

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