In 2023 and ‘24, Yainer Diaz looked like he was going to be a building block for the Houston Astros. He hit for both average and power and played solid enough defense behind the plate that it was easy to think about him as a part of the team’s long-term core.
But then things changed at the beginning of this season when the 26-year-old hit .185 through the first month of the season while taking just three walks. Thankfully, it looks like Diaz has put that behind him, as he’s spent the past four months looking like the franchise cornerstone that we expected him to be.