Houston Astros Rising Star Discusses Biggest Challenge He's Facing This Year
Perhaps one of the least talked about storylines throughout the offseason and entering Spring Training is who will be catching pitches from the Houston Astros' top-end staff.
For a long time, veteran Martin Maldonado was slotted in as their everyday catcher.
His elite defense and overall presence behind the plate made up for his lackluster offensive performances.
But, the Astros got a taste of what it might be like to have another impact bat in their lineup when rookie Yainer Diaz slashed .282/.308/.538 with 23 homers, 60 RBI and an OPS+ of 128 across his 104 games.
General manager Dana Brown sensed that Houston might have their catcher of the future and implored Dusty Baker to play the youngster more.
Now, with Maldonado gone, Diaz will have the chance to show what he can do as the full-time backstop.
There are no questions about his offensive ability.
The slugger projects to be one of the best hitters at his position for a long time, likely winning multiple Silver Slugger awards before he's done.
It's his defensive ability that will have to improve, something Diaz knows.
"I think my biggest challenge is to try and help [the pitching staff]. Gonna try to help them in the moments where they maybe can't find themselves," he told reporters.
This is something that his predecessor Maldonado was incredible at doing.
The veteran could sense when the pitchers on the mound were struggling and needed someone to come out and talk with them to get them back on track.
Hopefully Diaz was able to absorb some of that knowledge when working with Maldonado on a daily basis last year, but this skill is also something that will be gained with more reps.
The 25-year-old will get those reps this year.
What he does with them will determine how successful the Astros can be.
