Isan Diaz Stats & Scouting Report

AB	463
AVG	.177
OBP	.267
SLG	.274
HR	9

Full name Isan Xavier Díaz
Born 05/27/1996 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Profile Ht.: 5'10" / Wt.: 201 / Bats: L / Throws: R
School Springfield Central
Debut 08/05/2019
Drafted in the CB-B round (70th overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014 (signed for $750,000).

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Diaz, who was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the U.S. when he was 4, has drawn comparisons to former Puerto Rican big leaguer Jose Vidro as a 5-foot-11 lefthanded hitter with a chance to hit. Diaz has evident bat speed, a fluid stroke and makes consistent contact. At 5-foot-11, 180 pounds he has a fairly strong build, especially in his lower half, and could produce double-digit home runs with a steady diet of doubles. A high school shortstop, Diaz has smooth actions, athleticism and tremendous body control, but he fits better at second base because he has a below-average arm. His arm is loose and he can throw from different angles, and he could be an above-average defender at second, though he is a below-average runner.

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Organization Prospect Rankings

Track Record: Yet another trade acquisition by the Marlins, Diaz joined outfielders Lewis Brinson and Monte Harrison, as well as righthander Jordan Yamamoto, in the deal that sent Christian Yelich to the Brewers. A stocky, 5-foot-10 second baseman, Diaz was drafted out of his Massachusetts high school by the D-backs in 2014 before being traded to the Brewers in a five-player deal that sent shortstop Jean Segura to Arizona in 2016.

Scouting Report: Diaz has the profile of an offensive second baseman, with plus raw power that he continues to tap into in games. He has hit at least 13 home runs in each of the last four seasons, with one evaluator theorizing that he could have a Rougned Odor-type impact in the majors. Diaz is at least an average hitter with a willingness to hit the ball the other way, and his strikeout (26 percent) and walk rates (13 percent) have remained relatively consistent. Diaz is an above-average second baseman who has worked to improve his footwork around the bag. He is a good athlete with at least average speed, and he stole a career-high 14 bases in 2018 while at Double-A Jacksonville and Triple-A New Orleans.

The Future: Diaz will likely return to New Orleans to start 2019 but could take over Miami's everyday second base role by the end of the season.
The Brewers considered Diaz the key to the five-player trade that sent shortstop Jean Segura to Arizona after the 2015 season. After a big season at low Class A Wisconsin in 2016, Diaz joined high Class A Carolina in 2017 and was unable to repeat that success. His frustrations often showed, resulting in bad body language and failure to run balls out. Diaz's lefthanded bat is what will carry him. He has plus bat speed and makes hard contact, driving the ball to all fields. He has impressive raw power, but with that comes an elevated strikeout rate. Diaz is aggressive at the plate, sometimes too much so, but also draws walks when being pitched around. He dealt with a broken right hamate for part of the season, which impacted his hitting. He is an average runner but has good instincts and gets decent jumps. The Brewers value versatility in their system, so Diaz made 32 starts at shortstop, but his future is at second base, where his range and average arm will play. His hands and feel work well enough to be a good defender there. He remains an advanced hitter for his age and merely must improve his plate discipline and find an even keel on the field. Diaz's ceiling as a power-hitting second baseman should carry him to Double-A Biloxi in 2018. At age 22, he has plenty of time to polish his rough edges.
The Brewers made Diaz their primary target when they traded Jean Segura to the Diamondbacks after the 2015 season. Diaz was coming off an MVP performance in the Rookie-level Pioneer League in which the 5-foot-10 shortstop led the circuit with a .640 slugging percentage. Milwaukee assigned him to low Class A Wisconsin in 2016 and he mashed 20 home runs to lead the Midwest League as a 20-year-old. The lefthanded-hitting Diaz has plus bat speed and great hand-eye coordination, resulting in lots of hard contact and the ability to drive the ball to all parts of the field. He has an advanced offensive approach (he ranked second in the MWL with 72 walks) but is learning to find a middle ground between discipline and natural aggression (he also ranked second with 148 strikeouts). A fringe-average runner, Diaz has good instincts on the bases and gets good jumps to compensate. With merely average range and arm strength, he began playing second base more frequently in the second half of 2016, and that's the position where he profiles best. Already one of the Brewers top position prospects, Diaz might be two years away form forming a double-play combination with shortstop Orlando Arcia. First, Diaz must contend with the high Class A Carolina League.
Drafted in 2014 with the 70th overall pick, Diaz is a Puerto Rico product by way of a Massachusetts high school. After a modest pro debut, he earned MVP honors in the Rookie-level Pioneer League in 2015, leading the league in multiple hitting categories. Diaz ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the league, trailing only a pair of high first-round picks from the 2015 draft class. An offseason mechanical adjustment giving his swing more leverage helped Diaz develop confidence. He has an uncanny ability to find the barrel and makes plenty of hard contact, and he led the PL in slugging (.640) and extra-base hits (44). He has slightly below-average speed but gets good jumps and is a good baserunner. While Diaz has played mostly shortstop, he projects best as an offensive-minded second baseman. He has the first-step quickness to stay in the middle field, with range, footwork and speed better suited for second. His slightly below-average arm could improve with maturity and work ethic. Diaz maintained his momentum during instructional league and could hit his way up this list significantly in 2016. He will head to low Class A Kane County in 2016.
The Diamondbacks signed Diaz, who was born in Puerto Rico but grew up in Massachusetts, for a $750,000 bonus as a 2014 supplemental second-rounder. Regarded as a bat-first middle infielder during his high school days, he showed the opposite traits in his debut in the Rookie-level Arizona League. Diaz played a better-than-expected shortstop but struggled with the bat. He looked better in instructional league, and scouts believe the bat will come around because he has good hands, a good feel for the barrel, and a natural, easy swing. He struggles with offspeed stuff but has a strong lower half and projects to have average power if it all clicks. He's a fringe-average runner who won't steal a lot of bases, especially as he grows bigger. While he spent more time at shortstop in Rookie ball, Diaz's future is at second base. He could be an above-average defender there as well as being able to handle shortstop in a utility role. He'll likely move to Rookie-level Missoula in 2015.

Draft Prospects

Diaz, who was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the U.S. when he was 4, has drawn comparisons to former Puerto Rican big leaguer Jose Vidro as a 5-foot-11 lefthanded hitter with a chance to hit. Diaz has evident bat speed, a fluid stroke and makes consistent contact. At 5-foot-11, 180 pounds he has a fairly strong build, especially in his lower half, and could produce double-digit home runs with a steady diet of doubles. A high school shortstop, Diaz has smooth actions, athleticism and tremendous body control, but he fits better at second base because he has a below-average arm. His arm is loose and he can throw from different angles, and he could be an above-average defender at second, though he is a below-average runner.

Minor League Top Prospects

Diaz ranked in the top 10 in the PCL in runs (89), total bases (218), home runs (26) and OPS (.973) when the Marlins called him up for his major league debut on Aug. 5. League managers also named him the PCL’s best defensive second baseman. Diaz is a good athlete whose power has increased as he’s gotten more physical. He struggles to put together consistently good at-bats, however, and doesn’t barrel enough balls to take advantage of his above-average power. Those limitations make him a future average regular rather than a star for evaluators, but he has youth on his side.
Acquired in the off-season from Arizona by the Brewers, Diaz had a strong first season as a Milwaukee farmhand in the low Class A Midwest League. He played in only half of the Salt River games during the AFL season, batting .239/.338/.373, but it was all part of the continuation of Diaz's growth as a hitter. The 20-year-old infielder has a very good feel for the barrel and makes hard contact, although his swing gets loopy at times. His solid-average arm is enough for shortstop, but tick below-average speed makes him better suited for second base, his likely position moving forward.
The Brewers' new front-office regime is heavily influenced by its scouting director Ray Montgomery, who drafted Diaz while with the Diamondbacks. A Puerto Rico product by way of a Massachusetts high school, Diaz earned MVP honors in the Rookie-level Pioneer League in 2015 and, after a slow start, extended that success to the MWL, which he paced with 20 home runs and finished second with 72 walks. A lefthanded batter, Diaz's swing can get long and loopy at times, as it did toward the end of 2016, his first exposure to full-season ball. Though he looks smaller than his listed 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds, his power grades as above-average and plays in games. He takes walks but needs to make more contact and is a below-average runner. Diaz has played primarily shortstop as a pro, but late in 2016 he moved to second base, where he's expected to see the bulk of playing time going forward. He is considered an average defender at short and perhaps a tick above-average at second, with a good glove-hand exchange on double plays. His average arm plays better on the right side.
Labeled as a bat-first middle infielder coming out of high school, Diaz struggled in the Rookie-level Arizona League following his selection in the supplemental second round of the 2014 draft. An offseason mechanical adjustment that gave his swing more leverage, coupled with the confidence he gained from a fast start at Missoula, led Diaz to an MVP season in 2015. After hitting just .187 in his pro debut, he hit .360/.436/.640 with 13 home runs for the Osprey and led the Pioneer League in slugging (.640), extra-base hits (44) and doubles (25), among other categories. One of the keys to Diaz's success at the plate is an uncanny ability to find the barrel with good bat speed. He's a slightly below-average runner who gets good jumps on the bases and is a smart baserunner. His ability to stay at shortstop remains a question, but his defense has been solid with good first-step quickness and at least an average arm that may improve with strength and experience. "He competes and plays on an everyday basis," Ogden manager John Shoemaker said.

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Best Tools List

Rated Best Strike-Zone Discipline in the Miami Marlins in 2019

Scouting Reports

Diaz ranked in the top 10 in the PCL in runs (89), total bases (218), home runs (26) and OPS (.973) when the Marlins called him up for his major league debut on Aug. 5. League managers also named him the PCL’s best defensive second baseman. Diaz is a good athlete whose power has increased as he’s gotten more physical. He struggles to put together consistently good at-bats, however, and doesn’t barrel enough balls to take advantage of his above-average power. Those limitations make him a future average regular rather than a star for evaluators, but he has youth on his side.
Track Record: The Brewers considered Diaz the key to the five-player trade that sent shortstop Jean Segura to Arizona after the 2015 season. After a big season at low Class A Wisconsin in 2016, Diaz joined high Class A Carolina in 2017 and was unable to repeat that success. His frustrations often showed, resulting in some bad body language and failure to run balls out. Scouting Report: Diaz's lefthanded bat is what will carry him to the top level. He has plus bat speed and makes hard contact, driving the ball to all fields. He has impressive raw power, and with that comes an elevated strikeout rate. Diaz is aggressive at the plate, sometimes too much so, but also draws walks when being pitched around. He dealt with a broken right hamate for part of the season, which impacted his hitting. He is an average runner but has good instincts and gets decent jumps. The Brewers value versatility in their system, so Diaz made 32 starts at shortstop, but his future is at second base, where his range and average arm will play. The Future: Diaz's ceiling as a power-hitting second baseman should carry him to Double-A Biloxi in 2018. At age 22, he has plenty of time to polish his rough edges.
Background: The Brewers made Diaz their primary target when they traded Jean Segura to the Diamondbacks after the 2015 season. Diaz was coming off an MVP performance in the Rookie-level Pioneer League in which the 5-foot-10 shortstop led the circuit with a .640 slugging percentage. Milwaukee assigned him to low Class A Wisconsin in 2016 and he mashed 20 home runs to lead the Midwest League as a 20-year-old. Scouting Report: The lefthanded-hitting Diaz has plus bat speed and great hand-eye coordination, resulting in lots of hard contact and the ability to drive the ball to all parts of the field. He ranked second in the MWL with 72 walks but is learning to find a middle ground between discipline and natural aggression (he also ranked second with 148 strikeouts). A fringe-average runner, Diaz has good instincts on the bases and gets good jumps to compensate. With merely average range and arm strength, he began playing second base more frequently in the second half of 2016.

The Future: Already one of the Brewers' top position prospects, Diaz might be two years away from forming a double-play combination with shortstop Orlando Arcia. First, Diaz must contend with the high Class A Carolina League at the organization's new affiliate in Zebulon, N.C.
Acquired in the off-season from Arizona by the Brewers, Diaz had a strong first season as a Milwaukee farmhand in the low Class A Midwest League. He played in only half of the Salt River games during the AFL season, batting .239/.338/.373, but it was all part of the continuation of Diaz's growth as a hitter. The 20-year-old infielder has a very good feel for the barrel and makes hard contact, although his swing gets loopy at times. His solid-average arm is enough for shortstop, but tick below-average speed makes him better suited for second base, his likely position moving forward.