Players without much power often get overlooked in fantasy baseball. But there is plenty of value to be found in the on-base machines around the league. Put the ball in play, get on base, and good things will typically come to a player’s fantasy prospects.
This has included Yandy Diaz in years past, as he’s been something of a Quad-A player, bouncing between rosters and the waiver wire at any given time. This season, though, Diaz is off to the kind of start that should get him rostered in all formats for the entire season.
The 31-year-old is hitting .261/.370/.565 through seven games for the Tampa Bay Rays, who are off to a hot start collectively. Diaz is tearing the cover off the ball per usual, with an average exit velocity of 97.6 mph, putting him in the top 1% of baseball. His hard hit rate is the highest of his career to this point - 63.2% - and his xBA has settled in at .272.
Diaz will never be an RBI machine at the top of Tampa Bay’s lineup, and he’s never hit more than 14 home runs in a season. What’s interesting so far about 2023, though, is that Diaz is hitting fewer groundballs (at 47.4%, the lowest of his career thus far) and more line drives - 26.3%, his highest mark since 2018. He’s barreling up more and making more solid contact than ever before. He already has two home runs to this point, too. All the signs are beginning to form - could this be the career year Diaz acolytes have been waiting for?
Last season, Diaz - who has eligibility at both first and third base - was an on-base monster, evidenced by that .401 on-base percentage. He had 33 doubles and scored 71 runs, walking 78 times to just 60 strikeouts. Diaz didn’t necessarily stuff the stat lines, but how many unicorns like that actually exist? Over the course of a long and grueling fantasy baseball season, you need guys like Diaz, who provide the longevity and consistency at the plate to buoy your team when others are in the midst of a slump.
Or, maybe you’re chasing singular stats with other players on your team. If you’re getting granular in your roster construction, hunting down home runs or stolen bases, especially with the way teams are running this year, you need someone like Diaz to balance things out.
Diaz has plenty of utility right now even in shallower leagues. But if the advanced stats are indicative of what’s to come, he’ll be a fantasy superstar in 2023. If he’s somehow still hanging out on your waiver wire, you know what to do.
(Image credit: Jeff Marquis)