Diaz’s slider was by far his best pitch, and quite frankly, should be grouped with the top pitches in the league, as it generated a whopping 47% whiff rate along with a .189 BAA and .234 wOBA against. This high whiff rate can be attributed to its vertical movement as he is able to generate 4 inches more than league average. He seems to have worked on generating more drop than lateral movement, as he sacrificed 3 inches of horizontal break from his last season in 2017 in order to gain 7 vertical inches.
GIF made by Ryan Amore.
Blurb written by Justin Filteau