The Arizona Fall League, now in its 25th year, kicked off Tuesday night with an offensive bang as 42 runs were scored between the league’s six teams.
This year, the Salt River Rafters will feature seven Milwaukee Brewers prospects. Among them will be a range of those who are already established in the system as highly-regarded major-league hopefuls to those who are looking to make a name or rebound after rough years – of course, some also occupy more than one category.
If nothing else, the AFL is one more opportunity for fans to get a baseball fix once their respective teams have been knocked out of playoff contention. For Brewers fans, there is more than enough talent this year to generate some interest in the offseason.
Isan Diaz – SS/2B
Although Brett Phillips is technically ranked higher in terms of the Brewers prospects, Diaz has enjoyed considerably more hype this season and for good reason.
If it wasn’t enough that Diaz was the Pioneer League’s MVP in 2015 while batting .360/.456/.640 with 25 doubles, six triples, 13 home runs, 52 runs batted in and 12 stolen bases in 68 games, he again made his case as a quickly rising star by being the Brewers’ Minor League Player of the Year this season.
Although he didn’t take another award home, Diaz also played well enough to be considered for the Midwest League Player of the Year award. It was eventually taken by Eloy Jimenez, the Chicago Cubs No. 2 overall prospect, who was also named the Prospect of the Year, but Diaz’ excellent play this year did also land him on the Midwest League Post-Season All-Star Team at shortstop and for good reason.
In his first full minor league season, he batted .264/.358/.469 with 34 doubles, five triples, 20 home runs, 75 RBI and 11 stolen bases. Award or not, the performance landed him in the upper echelon of most offense categories in the Midwest League, including tying for first in games played (135), home runs (20) and extra-base hits (59) while coming in fourth in RBI (75) and slugging (.469), sixth in runs (71) and doubles (34), and ninth in hits (134) and on-base plus slugging (.827).
Considering the difficulties many players face adjusting to new surroundings in the first few years of the minor leagues, Diaz has shown a consistent ability to progress with and above the level of talent that surrounds him. He may have average fielding abilities in terms of accuracy and decision-making (31 errors between shortstop and second base) but still has solid range for both positions (4.27 RF/9 at SS, 4.64 RF/9 at 2B) and still brings an above-average bat into positions that are traditionally less productive.
As it stands, Diaz is one of only three players in the Brewers top-30 prospects profiled to suit middle infield outside of Gilbert Lara and Jake Gatewood, both of whom are likely to reach the majors after him. While he has played a majority of his minor league career at shortstop (193 games at SS, 57 at 2B), Diaz actually profiles more as a second baseman – a definite plus for the Brewers considering the team hopes newly-arrived top prospect Orlando Arcia will be a long-term solution at shortstop.
Although the Arizona Fall League is where Diaz first appeared as a minor league professional in 2014 and batted somewhat poorly (.187/.289/.330), it should provide him yet another opportunity to showcase the excellent all-around skill set he’s accumulated and refined over the last two seasons.
Jonathan Powell is the Managing Editor of Outside Pitch MLB and the Milwaukee Brewers writer. Follow him on Twitter @jonathannashhh.
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