Diaz is supposed to be an incredible defender, but even incredible defenders need to hit a little bit, and right now his line at Class AA Portland is .253/.309/.310. He's only 22, which is a reasonable age for the level, but I don't see much in his minor league profile that suggests he's ever going to hit. It might be tempting to think he's a future replacement for Jack Wilson, but it's worth remembering that even Jack Wilson hit well in the minors.
Since no one has mentioned this anywhere else, I'd like to be the first: the Pirates received the 2009 version of Rafael Belliard!
You may remember Belliard as a great glove, no-hit shortstop for the Pirates during the 1980s and Atlanta Braves in the 1990s. He played in the majors in part of 17 seasons but only had more than 300 at-bats in four of those seasons. Belliard's career stats: .221 batting average/.270 on base percentage/.259 slugging percentage. Belliard also had two career home runs. He mostly played as a defensive replacement.
Should we hope that Diaz becomes Rafael Belliard?
er... no
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if he got the reputation as a strong fielder simply because he couldn't hit, but looking at some basic numbers, it doesn't seem like raffy was particularly slick with the glove... below average range tempered by above average fielding percentage...
between his offensive shortcomings (which look all the worse now, given the inflated offensive numbers) and belliard's perhaps overrated defense, I'd like to see diaz surpass raffy's production...
Who cares about the Pirates anyway? They have proven over and over again that they make poor trades and can't develop their own players. In exchange for thier best players, which they should get maximum value for, they get role players at best. This is a terrible organization that quite frankly should be relegated to AA status.
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