As many of you know already, over these next few days I will be profiling some of the international free agents that figure to have an impact on the MLB in the next year or so. These guys are some of the best international players from all sorts of different places that are thinking about making the jump to Major League Baseball. Some of these guys you may have heard of, and others maybe not. There will be many different types of players that I will be looking at, but they all have one thing in common, they are the best of the rest throughout the world. This time around I will be looking closer at Aledmys Diaz out of Cuba.
Aledmys Diaz is a Cuban shortstop who recently defected out of Cuba, but he won't become a major league free agent until February 19 this spring because he lied about his age. He actually said he was older that he was in order to be exempt from major league baseball's collective bargaining agreement that states that if he was over 23 he would become a unrestricted free agent, but since he is younger than 23, he now must be signed with international bonus slot money, and will thus get paid a lot less. He has already established citizenship in Mexico and gone through the process required for Cuban defectors though, so on February 19th he should be all systems go. So lets get down to it, Diaz is a strong shortstop prospect who is already somewhat polished and shouldn't need very much time in the minors. He is solid enough as a defender at shortstop, and if he is in fact able to stick there it will increase his value in the long run. He's not all that fast, but makes up for it with good jumps towards the ball at shortstop and a strong arm. His real value lies in his bat though. He projects to have a plus hit and power tool which will make him one of the game's better hitting middle infield options. The part about his bat that I really like is the power. The best shortstops in the league can make all the needed plays in the field while hitting for a good average at the plate. Diaz has a chance to do all that while also adding some power, which makes him an intriguing option for many teams.
As far as stats go, I was able to find Diaz's stats for the past four years in Cuba's Serie Nacional, and everything looks solid. Over the past four years he slashed .308/.401/.444 which is a very good line, even if it's not against the world's best. His last season was one of his best too, slashing .315/.404/.500 with 12 HR is 270 at bats. Once again the power is apparent here, and he could conceivably be a 15 - 20 HR guy in the majors. I don't know anyone who wouldn't take that type of production from shortstop. Another important aspect is the strikeouts, which don't look to be a problem for Diaz. In 1090 career Cuban league at bats, he only struck out 107 times. In a 500 at bat season that would only be a tick over 50 Ks a year which would be a great MLB number. He also walked 139 times in those 1090 at bats which helps his value even more so. I know that these numbers will deflate against better completion, but he's clearly got the makeup to be a very productive major league player. The team that ends up signing him will have a good, if not great starting shortstop on their hands for years to come, and I can think of plenty of teams that could use one of those right now. Look for a lot of interest in Diaz once he becomes a free agent in February.
As far as stats go, I was able to find Diaz's stats for the past four years in Cuba's Serie Nacional, and everything looks solid. Over the past four years he slashed .308/.401/.444 which is a very good line, even if it's not against the world's best. His last season was one of his best too, slashing .315/.404/.500 with 12 HR is 270 at bats. Once again the power is apparent here, and he could conceivably be a 15 - 20 HR guy in the majors. I don't know anyone who wouldn't take that type of production from shortstop. Another important aspect is the strikeouts, which don't look to be a problem for Diaz. In 1090 career Cuban league at bats, he only struck out 107 times. In a 500 at bat season that would only be a tick over 50 Ks a year which would be a great MLB number. He also walked 139 times in those 1090 at bats which helps his value even more so. I know that these numbers will deflate against better completion, but he's clearly got the makeup to be a very productive major league player. The team that ends up signing him will have a good, if not great starting shortstop on their hands for years to come, and I can think of plenty of teams that could use one of those right now. Look for a lot of interest in Diaz once he becomes a free agent in February.