Yusniel Diaz 2019 Top 100 MLB Prospects Stock Watch

Image credit: Yusniel Diaz (Photo by Carl Kline)

This is part of a series highlighting several prospects in our 2019 Top 100 Prospects midseason update. To see the full rankings, click here. 

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Yusniel Diaz, OF, Orioles

Rank: 71 
Preseason: 37

STOCK is headed: Down ??

Diaz was hitting .314/.428/.477 through 59 games last year for Double-A Tulsa when the Dodgers traded him to the Orioles as the centerpiece prospect of the Manny Machado deal.

After the trade, Diaz’s numbers sagged when he joined Double-A Bowie, and it’s been more of the same this season while repeating the league.

Through 37 games in the Eastern League, sandwiched around a stint on the injured list, Diaz had hit .248/.333/.401 with four home runs.

The 22-year-old Diaz, whom the Dodgers signed out of Cuba in November 2015, has good hand-eye coordination, so despite not having the most conventional swing, he has shown a knack for putting the ball in play. There hasn’t been much damage upon contact, though, which has caused his performance to suffer and created more questions about his overall profile.

Diaz has split time between center field and right field, but scouts have concerns about whether he’s good enough defensively to handle center on an everyday basis and whether he has the raw power to project in right field.

Diaz is still young, but the reports this year haven’t been as encouraging as they were last summer.