Edwin Diaz has been one of baseball’s biggest turnaround tales this season: here’s how he can make a great season into a spectacular one, and what the New York Mets are hoping for him.
It’s to no one’s surprise that the closer has struggled for quite some time despite finishing 2020 with a 1.75 ERA; in 2019, Diaz was historically bad, alone putting up a 5.59 ERA.
This season so far, Diaz has turned things around. He has a 1.10 WHIP with a slightly higher 2.94 ERA in 34 games.
“It’s not what I expected,” pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said Thursday, referring to Diaz’s first half. “I have a high expectation for Edwin. He has some of the best stuff there is in baseball so he has done really well, extremely well. He has done a lot of things very well, but I have very high hopes and high expectations for him.”
Which is a given, since Diaz is one of baseball’s biggest competitors. He can top out at 99mph on the radar gun, however, consistency is key. When you’re throwing hard, throwing strikes is a must. The high velocity can easily get a hitter in a trap, however it’s quite easy to fall behind in the count if you don’t have control over your pitches.
Diaz has done overly well converting save opportunities this season opposed to the previous years, with 2019 being horrific. 13 of 14 save conversions: just take what you can get.
All in all, Diaz is one fierce competitor who the Mets see doing more than he even is. He’s not bad, but there certainly is room for improvement.
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Mr. Diaz would be great as a stater, since syndergaard is still on the disabled list.
In other news, that was an amazing game last night, Mets sinking the Pirates: 13 – 4.