August 4, 2020 1:53 PM : Diaz, who's slashing .167/.359/.167 through his first 39 plate appearances of 2020, has seen a drop in several key batted-ball metrics thus far this season, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.
Analysis: The entire Rays offense has scuffled of late, scoring a total of 14 runs during a just-concluded five-game road trip. However, Toribio points out Diaz is one of the poorest performers at present, and the reasons for his struggles seem to at least partly lie in a lack of authority when making contact. The 28-year-old, who broke out for a career-best 14 home runs in 79 games last season, has an average exit velocity of 82.1 mph, a sharp drop from a figure of 91.7 mph in 2019. Diaz's hard-contact rate has also tumbled from 42.4 percent to 36.0 percent year over year, all factors which certainly seem to be playing a role in an unusually low .200 BABIP. Diaz has yet to log an extra-base hit after lacing 35 last season, but perhaps his 3-for-8 tally over the last two games is a sign a resurgence is imminent.