Colorado Rockies: This is the Elias Díaz the Rockies were hoping for

When the Colorado Rockies signed catcher Elias Díaz to a minor league contract with an invite to MLB spring training in January 2020, the Rockies were hoping that Díaz would catch lightning in a bottle twice.

He was coming off a poor year in which his offensive numbers dropped by nearly 60 percent from 2018 and his defensive numbers plummeted even more. Díaz’s defense improved in the pandemic-shortened season of 2020 but his offense did not really improve much (60 OPS+ in 2019 and it was 63 in 2020).

Díaz’s offense next to nothing to begin the 2021 season as even entering June 3, Díaz was hitting a meager .123/.191/.185 with a wRC+ of -9 (or 109 percent lower than the MLB average). While many fans were calling for Díaz to be designated for assignment, the Rockies decided to keep Díaz because people, like manager Bud Black, thought that Díaz would, eventually, turn around at the plate.

The Colorado Rockies patience has paid dividends as Elias Díaz has been excellent at the plate

Since June 3, Díaz has had one of the best extended offensive stretches of his career, as he is hitting .284/.348/.568 with a wRC+ of 128. Since June 25, Díaz is hitting even better, as he has hit .306/.363/.637 with a wRC+ of 148. Since August 3, Díaz is hitting about the same, as he is hitting .318/.362/.568 with a wRC+ of 132.

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Before Friday’s series opener with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Rockies manager Bud Black was asked about what he has seen out of Díaz at the plate that has helped him turn the corner.

"“Well, overall, from early in the season until now, I think we’ve seen improvement in pitch selection, controlling the strike zone a little better–not chasing as much,” Black said. “I think the effort level to the swing is right where need it to be. He’s not swinging too hard, he’s not taking too big of a swing, which I think he (was doing) at the beginning of the year … He’s more calm (at the plate and) there’s a comfort level in the box and more confidence that came with getting hits and hitting homers and being productive.”"

Additionally, Díaz has 6 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), which is the best number he has had in his career. He also is above league average in pitch-framing metrics as well.

And even with those great numbers, the advanced stats suggest that he has actually had some bad luck.

His batting average on balls in play (BABIP) since June 3 is .262, when the league average is .300. Additionally, his hard-hit rate in that span is 38 percent, when the league average is 35.5 percent. Also, his above barrel rate in that span is 9.9 percent, which is 33 percent higher than the league average of 6.6 percent.

The resurgence of Díaz has meant that he has become the Rockies primary catcher, especially in the wake of Dom Nuñez’s struggles at the plate. Since June 3, Díaz has started 42 games and Nuñez has only started 24 games for the Rockies. Before that, Nuñez started 35 games and Díaz had started in 21.

With his recent play, Díaz may have already played himself onto the Rockies 2022 roster and not as a backup catcher but as the starting catcher for the Rockies for the foreseeable future.