Elias Diaz

33-Year-Old CatcherC

Colorado Rockies

2024 Stats

AVG

.310

RBI

Rest-of-Season Projections

AVG

RBI

Unlock Our Projections

2024 Fantasy Outlook

If Diaz could simply only play when the Rockies were playing at home and facing righties, he would be more rosterable. Diaz hit .293 in those situations last season with seven homers and 34 RBI which was an overwhelming amount of his overall volume last season. He did hit .258 on the road, but struggled to hit lefties in any location while receiving the majority of the time behind the dish for Colorado. Diaz is in the final year of his contract with the Rockies and there are few signs the club is interested in re-signing the veteran backstop whose last above-average offensive season came in 2018. The upside with Diaz would be him catching the perfect storm of contract year breakout combined with late catcher career breakout, but both theories require a bit of Jobu's rum to truly believe in them. The best thing we can say about Diaz is that he starts at catcher and can give you 15-ish homers. Everything else is a dart throw given his numbers over the years. Read Past Outlooks

RANKSFrom Preseason

#254

ADP

Overall

League Majors

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 6'1"

Weight 223

DOB 11/17/1990

Born Maracaibo, Venezuela

College None

Drafted 2008 PIT

Six-game hitting streak

CColorado Rockies

April 13, 2024

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored Friday against the Blue Jays.

ANALYSIS
Diaz delivered singles in each of his first two at-bats, coming around to score after the first while driving in a run with the latter. The performance extended his hitting streak to six games, the first five of which came at Coors Field. Diaz has started 10 of the first 14 contests of the season and should remain the Rockies' primary catcher.

Read More News

Batting Stats

Loading Batting Stats...

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2024 MLB Game Log

Calculate Stats Over Time

Just click on any two dates.

Scoring

FanDuel

DraftKings

Yahoo DFS

Sorare

Loading Batting Game Log...

2023 MLB Game Log

Calculate Stats Over Time

Just click on any two dates.

Scoring

FanDuel

DraftKings

Yahoo DFS

Sorare

Loading Batting Game Log...

2022 MLB Game Log

Calculate Stats Over Time

Just click on any two dates.

Scoring

FanDuel

DraftKings

Yahoo DFS

Sorare

Loading Batting Game Log...

2021 MLB Game Log

Calculate Stats Over Time

Just click on any two dates.

Scoring

FanDuel

DraftKings

Yahoo DFS

Sorare

Loading Batting Game Log...

2020 MLB Game Log

Calculate Stats Over Time

Just click on any two dates.

Scoring

FanDuel

DraftKings

Yahoo DFS

Sorare

Loading Batting Game Log...

2019 MLB Game Log

Calculate Stats Over Time

Just click on any two dates.

Scoring

FanDuel

DraftKings

Yahoo DFS

Sorare

Loading Batting Game Log...

2018 MLB Game Log

Calculate Stats Over Time

Just click on any two dates.

Scoring

FanDuel

DraftKings

Yahoo DFS

Sorare

Loading Batting Game Log...

2017 MLB Game Log

Calculate Stats Over Time

Just click on any two dates.

Scoring

FanDuel

DraftKings

Yahoo DFS

Sorare

Loading Batting Game Log...

Minor League Game Log

Calculate Stats Over Time

Just click on any two dates.

Loading Minor League Batting Game Log...

Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2022

+8%

OPS vs RHP

2024

+49%

OPS vs RHP

2023

+33%

OPS vs RHP

2022

+28%

OPS vs LHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022vs Left	.659	304	26	8	34	0	.234	.283	.376
Since 2022vs Right	.712	666	59	16	97	1	.264	.314	.398
2024vs Left	.549	21	1	0	4	0	.263	.286	.263
2024vs Right	.817	42	7	1	4	0	.333	.381	.436
2023vs Left	.583	143	15	4	14	0	.185	.252	.331
2023vs Right	.778	383	33	10	58	1	.298	.339	.438
2022vs Left	.750	140	10	4	16	0	.278	.314	.436
2022vs Right	.587	241	19	5	35	0	.197	.261	.326
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2022

+24%

OPS at Home

2024

+48%

OPS at Home

2023

+8%

OPS at Home

2022

+51%

OPS at Home

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022Home	.774	463	45	15	77	1	.282	.322	.452
Since 2022Away	.623	507	40	9	54	0	.230	.288	.335
2024Home	.944	19	1	0	5	0	.471	.474	.471
2024Away	.637	44	7	1	3	0	.244	.295	.341
2023Home	.755	258	24	8	38	1	.277	.318	.437
2023Away	.696	268	24	6	34	0	.258	.313	.383
2022Home	.783	186	20	7	34	0	.270	.312	.471
2022Away	.517	195	9	2	17	0	.186	.251	.266
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Stat Review

How does Elias Diaz compare to other hitters?

This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

BB/K
Walk to strikeout ratio
BB Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
K Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
BABIP
Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
ISO
Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
AVG
Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
OBP
On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
SLG
Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
OPS
On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
wOBA
Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
Exit Velocity
The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
Hard Hit Rate
A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
Barrels/PA
The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
Expected BA
Expected Batting Average.
Expected SLG
Expected Slugging Percentage.
Sprint Speed
The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
Ground Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
Line Drive %
The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
Fly Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.

BB/K

0.23

BB Rate

4.8%

K Rate

20.6%

BABIP

.378

ISO

.069

AVG

.310

OBP

.349

SLG

.379

OPS

.729

wOBA

.324

Exit Velocity

87.7 mph

Hard Hit Rate

19.6%

Barrels/PA

3.2%

Expected BA

.230

Expected SLG

.326

Sprint Speed

Ground Ball %

43.5%

Line Drive %

28.3%

Fly Ball %

28.3%

Advanced Batting Stats

Loading Advanced Batting Stats...

Additional Stats

Games By Position

Defensive Stats

Loading Games Played by Position...

Loading MLB Defensive Stats...

Batted Ball Stats

Loading Batted Ball Stats...

Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers

Want more matchup stats?

View Elias Diaz vs. Pitcher Stats

Loading Matchup Stats...

Rockies Depth Chart

Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.

Subscribe Now

Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Elias Diaz See More

Weekly Hitter Rankings: Manic Monday

5 days ago

Todd Zola presents the Weekly Hitter Rankings.

Weekly Hitter Rankings: Texas Two Step

12 days ago

Evan Carter and the Texas Rangers join the Houston Astros atop the Weekly Hitter Rankings, presented by Todd Zola.

MLB FAAB Factor: And We're Off!

14 days ago

Jorge Martin identifies targets for fantasy managers in leagues with Thursday FAAB, starting with Astros starting pitcher Ronel Blanco.

Weekly Hitter Rankings: South Side of Chicago Is the Battest Part of Town

19 days ago

Luis Robert and the Chicago White Sox face a full slate of games and front Todd Zola's Weekly Hitter Rankings for the Week of April 1-7.

RotoWire Roundtable: Our Latest Fantasy Baseball Top 300 Rankings

27 days ago

Injuries and signings have caused plenty of shifts in our rankings over the last two weeks, with Elly De La Cruz jumping up six spots due to teammates missing time.

Latest Fantasy Rumors

Could be trade candidate

CColorado Rockies

November 10, 2023

The Rockies might listen to trade offers for Diaz this winter, MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reports.

ANALYSIS
Colorado looks unlikely to compete in 2024, which will be the final season of the three-year, $14.5 million contract extension Diaz signed in November 2021. The 32-year-old catcher earned his first career All-Star nod this past season while posting an overall .725 OPS with 14 homers and 72 RBI in 141 games. There aren't many run-producing catchers on the free-agent market, so the Rockies could get something significant in return if they were to put Diaz on the block.

See All MLB Rumors

Past Fantasy Outlooks

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

Diaz inked a three-year, $14.5 million extension with Colorado after he hit 18 home runs with a .774 OPS in 2021, but he was unable to build on that success last season. The 32-year-old had a .228/.281/.368 slash line with nine homers in 105 games during 2022, and his defense also took a major step back with minus-15 DRS. Brian Serven made his MLB debut but didn't impress offensively with a 52 wRC+, but he provided strong work behind the plate. Diaz should open 2023 with a slight edge for playing time, but his playing time is hardly secure given last season's production, and his fantasy outlook is similarly trending in the wrong direction.

In his second season with the Rockies, Diaz posted a .774 OPS, the second-highest mark of his career. He also graded out as a strong defender. As a result, he was rewarded with a three-year extension from Colorado. The backstop slashed .246/.310/.464 with a career-best 18 homers, 52 runs and 44 RBI across 106 games. Part of his success can be attributed to his improved 40.1 FB%, which is particularly important for hitters playing in Colorado's altitude. The 31-year-old also generated a career-high 16.1% HR/FB. Although Diaz continued to split time behind the dish in 2021, he appears to be the favorite for playing time over Dom Nunez, who hit .189 across 81 appearances last year. Diaz has the advantage of playing his home games at hitter-friendly Coors Field, which gives him a fairly high batting-average floor relative to others at the position. If the power gains he showed last year hold, he could be a steal in leagues where two catchers are started.

Following a disappointing 2019 campaign, Diaz had the opportunity to get a fresh start with the Rockies. Even though he got to play his home games at hitter-friendly Coors Field, the catcher was unable to establish himself as the team's primary catcher during most of 2020. His wOBA crept up to .302, but his BABIP fell to .275, while his Z-Contact% dropped to 84.3%. Diaz did put more balls in the air, which is certainly promising for a player in Colorado. He had a 35.8% flyball rate, and his hard-hit rate (39.6%) and barrel percentage (11.3%) both jumped during his first season with the Rockies. However, he struggled with patience once again, posting a 6.8 BB% and 20.5 K%. Diaz has shown glimpses of promise in his career and could provide late-round value if he consistently starts, but he's been unable to produce on a regular basis and should compete for playing time with Dom Nunez next year.

After a promising 2018 campaign, Diaz was unable to put the pieces together in 2019. Francisco Cervelli was released due to lingering concussion issues in August, and Diaz was unable to lock down the role of an everyday catcher. Diaz hit just .241/.296/.307 with two home runs in 101 games, down from the season before in which he hit .286/.339/.452 with 10 home runs in 82 games. The 29-year-old has above-average contact skills -- he had an 88.7 Z-Contact% and 16.9 K% last season -- but Diaz struggled with patience (6.9 BB%) and the quality connections simply were not there after he found a groove in these areas the year before. The 29-year-old showed what he was capable of in 2018 by flashing his power potential and ability to produce runs in limited opportunities, but the Pirates moved on over the winter and Diaz will have to start essentially from Square 1 with the Rockies.

Despite playing in just 82 games while serving primarily as a backup to Francisco Cervelli, Diaz was a top-20 earner at the catcher position. It was a big improvement on his previous season -- Diaz walked more (7.6%) and shaved nearly five percentage points off his strikeout rate while adding more than 10 percentage points to his hard-hit rate. With that, his power numbers and batting average improved dramatically. Statcast suggests the numbers could have been even better given the quality of his approach and contact. Diaz uses the whole field well (just a 37.7 Pull%), and while there's little in his track record to suggest this level of power is sustainable, catchers typically take longer to develop offensively, so who knows? Cervelli has another year left on his deal and will presumably remain the starter, but Cervelli has dealt with a variety of injuries. Even in a backup role, Diaz has appeal as a low-cost catching option.

After appearing for a sip of latte each of the past two seasons, Diaz received extended playing time in 2017 as regular catcher Francisco Cervelli endured an injury-riddled season. Diaz began the season with Triple-A Indianapolis before being recalled May 1. He'd ride the Pitt-Indy shuffle three more times before being called up for good on Aug. 28. Diaz makes good contact, sporting a strikeout rate in the mid-teens throughout his minor-league career, whiffing at a 19 percent clip last season in 200 plate appearances with the Pirates. Unfortunately, with little power and even less speed, Diaz doesn't take advantage of the balls he puts in play, slugging just .314 with a .091 ISO. Considering Diaz's defense is nothing special, his career path looks to be that of a backup receiver. However, with the fragile Cervelli back for the Bucs, Diaz could be pressed into action again in 2018.

Diaz missed a golden opportunity to make an impact in 2016 as he instead made two separate trips to the disabled list. First, he underwent elbow surgery in early May and didn't make his minor league season debut until July 4. He then caught one game in Pittsburgh, throwing out a baserunner in late July, before returning to the minors and later developing a season-ending bacterial infection in his leg. Diaz was a defense-first catcher until 2014, when he hit a combined .312 between Double-A and Triple-A. He doesn't hold a ton of power but he could see significant action in the big leagues in 2017 if Francisco Cervelli once again misses time due to injury.

Diaz was unable to follow up a breakout 2014 (.328/.378/.445) in 2015 (.271/.330/.382), but he did advance from Double-A to Triple-A. The 25-year-old made his major league debut in September as catching insurance but appeared in only two games as a pinch-hitter. His stock dropped a bit and 2013 No. 1 draft pick Reese McGuire looms large in the organization’s long-term plans. Still, Diaz threw out 30 percent of baserunners and offers Pittsburgh a solid potential backup to Francisco Cervelli, depending upon fellow catcher Chris Stewart’s plans.

More Fantasy News