4 years agoTampa Bay Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz hit his first home run of the spring on Friday, as he finished 2-for-3 with two RBI in an 11-7 loss to the Red Sox. Diaz has been having a fairly solid spring so far, slashing .263/.375/.474 with four walks and two strikeouts across nine games. The power dropped off significantly for Diaz in 2020, as he posted a .386 slugging percentage and .079 ISO — both his worst marks since 2017 — while his -7.9 degree launch angle was the lowest mark in the majors among players with at least 130 plate appearances. But while the power dropped, Diaz managed to get on base at a solid clip with career-highs in walk rate (16.7%), on-base percentage (.428) and wOBA (.367) while hitting .307 in 34 games. He could be an interesting late-round pick in deeper leagues that count OBP, and if his power can bounce back that would be the icing on the cake for managers.--Michael Grennell - RotoBaller
Source: MLB.com