Marlins want more than ‘flashes’ from Lewin Diaz. His confidence is growing with each rep
.JPG "Miami Marlins’ Lewin Diaz hits a solo home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, in Washington.")
Twice on Tuesday, before the game got completely out of hand, Lewin Diaz provided the latest glimpse of what the Miami Marlins hope can become a regular occurrence. The power-hitting lefty first baseman muscled a pair of elevated fastballs — first against Erick Fedde in the fifth and later against Andres Machado in the seventh — and sent them into the seats in right-center field at Nationals Park.
“My confidence is growing,” Diaz said.
It’s moments like these, even in an eventual 8-2 loss to the Washington Nationals, that the Marlins are looking for over the final few weeks of the season. Young players using this last stretch of a lost season to showcase that they can lock into eventual long-term roles.
Diaz got a later start than some of his counterparts. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been on the roster since Opening Day. Jesus Sanchez has been essentially an everyday starter since being called up in mid-June (save for a month when he was on the COVID-19-related injured list). Bryan De La Cruz has started 37 games since he made his MLB debut on July 30. Pitcher Edward Cabrera, whose season was delayed a couple months as he rehabbed biceps nerve inflammation that predated spring training, made his MLB debut on Aug. 25 and has had four turns through the starting rotation.
But Diaz, the Marlins’ hopeful first baseman of the future? He had just 16 appearances (and only six starts) scattered over four separate stints at the MLB level before his latest call-up on Wednesday. The reason? Jesus Aguilar remained on the roster, and the Marlins preferred Diaz get the chance for regular at-bats at the minor-league level than have hit riding the bench and getting the occasional start at the MLB level.
Aguilar has since gone on the injured list with left knee inflammation, opening the door for Diaz to get his chance.
This stretch, a week in the making with about three more weeks remaining, will be the main opportunity for Diaz to give the Marlins an extended look at what he can provide to the club.
So far, so good.
After going 0 for 7 in his first two starts, Diaz has since posted a .389 batting average (7 for 18) with two home runs, two doubles, one triple and four runs scored in his past five games.
“I feel super good and comfortable,” Diaz said. “I’m playing more games, feeling more relaxed. Playing on a daily basis is definitely helping me.”
The goal now? See as much of Diaz as possible before the season ends. See if this mini run is more than just a mini run.
Get as much of a judgment on his batting style — how competitive his at-bats are (specifically against left-handed pitchers), how he adjusts depending on the pitches thrown to him (nine of his 11 hits at the MLB level this season are against fastballs) — to find out over an extended sample size just who Lewin Diaz really is as a baseball player.
“Any time you see a game like this,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said, “it shows you what he can be, but if you’re really talking about winning, then you have to be able to do that consistently. That’s really all our guys. This shows Lewin’s potential. Now, he can show us ‘Hey, he’s ready to be consistent.’ That’s what this has kind of been about. We knew we’re going to get extended at-bats for Lewin. It’s a chance for him to show that he can give you consistent, good at-bats. And then there’s decisions to be made in the winter which way you want to go, but if you’re going to win, you can’t just show flashes. That’s for any of our guys. When you show flashes, and then you don’t and you’re not consistent, it’s hard to say that this guy’s ready to help us win a championship.”
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