One of the many unexpected positives of the 2018 season for the Pittsburgh Pirates was the emergence of catcher Elias Diaz. In his first full MLB season Diaz was a breakout player for the Pirates. The 28-year-old backstop emerged as one of the best backup catchers in the game, and paired with Francisco Cervelli to give the Pirates one of the best catching tandems in baseball.
Logging career highs in games (82) and plate appearances (277), Diaz slashed .286/.339/.452 for the Pirates. All of these were career highs for Diaz, as were his .