Aledmys Díaz

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Díaz and the second or maternal family name is Serrano.
Aledmys Díaz
St. Louis Cardinals – No. 36
Shortstop
Born: (1990-08-01) August 1, 1990
Santa Clara, Villa Clara, Cuba
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 5, 2016, for the St. Louis Cardinals
MLB statistics
(through May 3, 2016)
Batting average .388
Home runs 5
Runs batted in 14
Teams

Aledmys Díaz Serrano (born August 1, 1990) is a Cuban professional baseball shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB), who signed him as a free agent in 2014, and made his major league debut for them in 2016. He previously played for the Naranjas de Villa Clara in the Cuban National Series from 2007 through 2012 before defecting so that he could play in the United States.

Career

Naranjas de Villa Clara (2007–12)

Díaz played in the Cuban National Series for the Naranjas de Villa Clara. He debuted in 2007–08 by going nine for 32 in a utility role. At age 19 in 2008–09, Aledmis batted .301 with a .403 on-base percentage (OBP) and .482 slugging percentage (SLG) but fielded only .930 as a regular infielder. He was third in the Serie Nacional with 24 errors.

The next season, Díaz batted .282 with a .348 OBP, .363 SLG and fielded .950 as Villa Clara's starting shortstop. He tied for fifth in the Serie Nacional with 18 errors, having improved his defense. During his 2011–12 season, Díaz' offensive production continued to climb, as he batted .315 with a .404 OBP and .500 SLG. He hit 12 home runs in 270 at bats.[1][2] From 2008 to 2012, Díaz, batted .308 with a .401 OBP and .444 SLG.[2]

Díaz defected from Cuba in 2012 while playing with the Cuban national baseball team in a tournament in the Netherlands.[3] He was declared ineligible to sign with any MLB teams until February 19, 2014, due to lying about his age.[4]

St. Louis Cardinals organization (2014–present)

Minor leagues

Díaz held a showcase for MLB teams with fellow Cuban defector Odrisamer Despaigne on February 13, 2014.[1] He signed a four-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals worth $8 million on March 9.[5] He played for the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League and Springfield Cardinals of the Class AA Texas League in 2014, and for Springfield — all while battling injuries — before he was designated for assignment on July 8, 2015. In the last 45 games of the season, he batted .333, .404 OBP, and .574 SLG. The Cardinals re-added him to the 40-man roster after the season.[6] Díaz batted .278, .339 OBP and .445 SLG over the full 2015 season;[7] he batted .239 against righties, and .371 against lefties. He hit .329 in road games and .222 in home games.[8] He played in the Arizona Fall League following the regular season, registering a .616 SLG and .987 OPS.[9]

Major league debut (2016)

Diaz playing shortstop in 2016

On April 5, 2016, the Cardinals recalled Díaz to the major league roster to take the place of Tommy Pham, who left Opening Day with an injury.[10] In a game later that day, he singled in his first major league at bat off Jon Niese in the third inning for his first MLB hit in a 6–5 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.[11] On April 8, Díaz' first major league home run became part of a unique event in major league history. Playing the Atlanta Braves, Jeremy Hazelbaker, he, and Greg Garcia established a new MLB record by each hitting a pinch hit home run, becoming the first to hit three pinch hit home runs in one game for the same team. The previous record of two pinch hit home runs by the same team in the same game had previously occurred on 57 occasions, most recently in 2011. The Cardinals won this contest, 7–4.[12] In an 11–2 win over the San Diego Padres on April 23, Díaz garnered his first five-hit game.[13]

After collecting two hits in his first two at bats in a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 25 to give him 26 hits in 52 at bats, Díaz became the first rookie in MLB since 1900 to carry at least a .500 batting average at any point after accumulating 50 at bats, per the Elias Sports Bureau.[14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Jarosh, Noah (February 12, 2014). "Cubans Aledmys Díaz and Odrisamer Despaigne will hold showcase Thursday". SB Nation. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Axisa, Mike (March 9, 2014). "Cardinals agree to sign Cuban infielder Aledmys Díaz". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  3. ↑ Sánchez, Jesse (May 24, 2013). "Two top Cuban prospects near MLB free agency". MLB.com. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  4. ↑ Sánchez, Jesse (December 9, 2013). "Clubs interested in Cuban shortstop prospect Aledmys Díaz". MLB.com. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  5. ↑ Silva, Drew (March 9, 2014). "Cardinals sign Cuban middle infielder to four-year major league contract". Hardball Talk. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  6. ↑ Berry, Adam (November 19, 2015). "Cards add Diaz, Kiekhefer, Tilson to roster". stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  7. ↑ RotoWire Staff (March 9, 2016). "Cardinals' Aledmys Diaz: Possible Opening Day starter?". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  8. ↑ Hochman, Benjamin (February 29, 2016). "Cardinals' Diaz hopes to make name in the bigs". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  9. ↑ Goold, Derrick (March 8, 2016). "Diaz wows Cardinals as opportunity arrives". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  10. ↑ Langosch, Jenifer (April 5, 2016). "Cards put Pham on DL, call up Diaz". MLB.com.
  11. ↑ "Mercer single in 11th lifts Pirates past Cardinals". Reuters. April 6, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  12. ↑ Langosch, Jenifer (April 9, 2016). "In the Cards: Unlikely pinch-hitters make history". MLB.com.
  13. ↑ Wilson, Bernie (April 23, 2016). "Gyorko, Hazelbaker hit 3-run homers in Cardinals' 11–2 win". The Charlotte Observer. Associated Press. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  14. ↑ Goold, Derrick (April 27, 2016). "Cardinals notes: With Holliday out, Carpenter bats third". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved April 27, 2016.

External links

Some or all content from this article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the BR Bullpen article "Aledmis Díaz".
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, May 06, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.