Yandy Diaz is a 30 year old infielder on the Tampa Bay Rays, who from 2019-21 had been a valuable bench bat for the team. In 2022, Diaz has taken his game to a whole new level reaching levels of production he’s never seen before. Sadly though, due to the lack of media attention drawn in by the Rays, his greatness has gone under the radar. Let’s take a look at how underrated Yandy Diaz has become…
The average fan might take a look at the Rays offense in 2022 and say eh. They rank 23rd in the MLB in Home Runs with only 81, and have a team OPS+ of 101, barely above league average. But when you take a look further at the Rays offense, you can see that a few Rays hitters have exceled in 2022. Bats like Ji-Man Choi and Harold Ramirez have posted consistent offensive production, while both dealing with injuries, while Manuel Margot and Isaac Paredes have also shined in shorter amounts of time. But one player has shined above the rest in 2022, and that is Yandy Diaz.
Diaz’s standard stats don’t jump off the page, as he only has 3 home runs in 80 games played, but his advanced numbers prove he’s an elite hitter. His 147 OPS+ (15th in baseball) and 2.5 fWAR (30th in baseball) jump off the page, and his .414 OBP ranks third in all of baseball.
Yandy’s peripherals are just as impressive. His K% is 97th percentile and his BB% is 98th percentile, along with his 97th percentile whiff rate and 96th percentile chase rate show how much of an amazing pure hitter Diaz truly is.
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