All of the hard work culminated into one moment for Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Elias Diaz.
Diaz, the 14th ranked Pirates prospect heading into the season, saw his major league dream become a reality when he was one of the team’s six September call-ups this season.
Saturday night, Diaz saw another dream become a reality when he made a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth inning of the team’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
“It was amazing,” Diaz said. “I feel great, I don’t have words to explain how I feel today.”
Much of Diaz’s work witnessed during the game since the call-up has come from the bullpen where he catches sessions and gets repetitions to develop a comfort to the adjustment of playing in the MLB.
“I’ve been working hard every day in the bullpen,” Diaz said. “I’m catching every bullpen and working hard in the cages in BP. I know that the opportunity is going to come, and I have to be ready.”
Diaz caught the Pirates eye last season hitting .314 over two levels of minor league baseball with six home runs and 54 RBI. This success continued when general manager Neal Huntington praised him for his efforts in Spring Training. Still, he remained the fourth catcher option on the depth chart.
Earlier in the season, Tony Sanchez was sent down to Triple-A Indianapolis, where Diaz was already the starter. The idea was for the two to split the duties. However, Diaz’s game calling won out, and Sanchez struggled on the offensive side of the ball as well.
“He had a good year in Indy and really handled himself well catching and defensively,” Jaff Decker said. “He’s a good ballplayer and no pressure situation gets to him.”
When the Pirates were discussing September call-ups towards the end of August in Miami, manager Clint Hurdle mentioned Elias Diaz’s name before Sanchez’s.
“My view is he’s doing well because he’s got some men that he should be having conversations with,” said Hurdle. “That entire dugout was rooting him up last night. They were engaged for his at-bat. It’s the first time he’s been in a uniform and not played, which is interesting. We’ve had him on fast forward for a while now. He’s just taking it slow and being very appreciative.”
This move in the depth chart was confirmed with the call-up.
Diaz has shown his excitement for being a Pirate and was brave enough to make an optimistic prediction for how the team will fate.
“We’re going to continue to play hard because we’re going make the playoffs, and we’re going to win the World Series,” said Diaz.
Photo credit: MILB.com
