Rancho Cucamonga, California —— At the top of this post, watch our scouting video of Los Angeles Dodgers top outfield prospect Yusniel Diaz, with at-bats taken from an April 24, 2017 game for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in the High-A California League against the visiting San Jose Giants.
Yusniel Diaz scouting report notes
The Los Angeles Dodgers spent tens of millions of dollars to sign Yusniel Diaz out of Cuba, and did so in paying a pretty hefty penalty for his services after going over their international bonus pool limitations, but so far it looks like the club made a pretty damn shrewd move in picking up the outfielder who still isn’t even 21 years old. I saw Diaz last year in High-A at Rancho, too, but this second time around he already looks more polished with a slightly greater focus on hitting for power, most notably exemplified by a larger leg kick from which to create torque and power through his swing.
Diaz is as good an athlete as he’s always been, and it appears his arm is back to full strength after dealing with some shoulder injury trouble last year, which is a very good sign for a Los Angeles Dodgers organization that has dealt with more than their fair share of injuries through the last few years. With his shoulder healthy, Diaz can cycle through all three outfield positions with enough athleticism to make any of ’em work, but he’s probably the best fit in center field right now as he perfects that side of his game.
But it’ll always be his bat that draws the most attention. Diaz is as strong as ever at barreling the ball, and his phenomenal hand-eye coordination and good bat speed combine to make him a guy to stop and watch hit every time he walks to the plate. It’ll be interesting to see if his significantly larger leg kick this year will translate into more power, but early returns have him turning a corner somewhat in the California League: .314/.385/.386/.770 with three doubles and a triple in 18 games entering Thursday’s action. He still has some work to do before he can graduate to Double-A — and he’s not yet 21 years old, anyways — so we’ll likely see the outfielder again very soon in Rancho; until then, just salivate over some Yusniel Diaz video and GIFs further down in this post.
To visit Yusniel Diaz’s player page, please click here.
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Yusniel Diaz scouting report: 140 characters or less
A leg kick may bring power, but Yusniel Diaz keeps doing what he’s always done: barreling the ball hard & using athleticism in every facet.
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Yusniel Diaz scouting report video
In addition to some of our notes and observations above, here’s a little Yusniel Diaz video — including a triple in his first at-bat — from an April 24 game against San Jose:
Friendly reminder: if you’d like more Yusniel Diaz video, and clips from literally hundreds of other prospects, you ought to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Yusniel Diaz scouting report GIFs
And if some Yusniel Diaz baseball video weren’t enough, how about a few GIFs? Enjoy:
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In this Los Angeles Dodgers / Yusniel Diaz baseball scouting report:
Los Angeles Dodgers | San Francisco Giants | Rancho Cucamonga Quakes | San Jose Giants | Yusniel Diaz
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