Inside The Rays

Rays' Yandy Diaz Has Been Baseball's Most Valuable Player the Past Month

Yandy Diaz's dominance at the plate has made the Tampa Bay designated hitter the most valuable player in the league for the past month. His numbers are eye-popping.
Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz (2) hits a two run home run against the Oakland Athletics in the sixth inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz (2) hits a two run home run against the Oakland Athletics in the sixth inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

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It's a little early to name an MVP, but that hasn't stopped Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz from claiming the title over the last month.

At the plate, Diaz has been electric for the Rays. The 33-year-old just logged a .400 batting average in June while crushing five home runs, four doubles and a triple with 13 RBIs.

Now, Diaz is leading the league in batting average (.408) and other categories, such as wRC+ (218), fWAR (1.8), wOBA (.480) and hard hits (51), officially making him the league's most valuable player.

Before an epic run in June vaulted him atop the leaderboards, Diaz struggled in May, batting .224 (22-for-98).

"Yeah, I didn't see Yandy really other than just not getting his results, he's been hitting the ball hard all season long," Rays manager Kevin Cash said before Monday's game against the Athletics. "Now he's starting to get the results to show for him."

"But it was more frustration, you know, he'd have four at-bats and, two of them, he hit 110 miles per hour right at people. Now, he's deciding to hit more in the gap."

In the last 30 days, Diaz is leading the majors with 40 hits, illustrating his ability to put the ball in the gap.

Diaz's big June catapulted him into the top 10 in All-Star voting for American League designated hitters. However, he was not named a finalist. Instead, the honors went to Baltimore Orioles DH Ryan O'Hearn and New York Yankees DH Ben Rice.

Diaz will try to continue his hot streak when the Rays open their road series against the Minnesota Twins on Friday at 4:10 p.m. ET.

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Don Strouble
DON STROUBLE

Don Strouble is a sports journalist who covers Tampa Bay Rays baseball and other sports for the ‘’On SI’’ network. He is a Northeast Ohio native and currently lives in Orlando, Fla.

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