Astros: Yainer Diaz's hot bat comes after scouting himself on video

TORONTO — Early last week, Yainer Diaz wasn't feeling like himself. Although his playing time was sporadic, he still wasn't making the most of his opportunities, and his average was down to .220 with just four extra-base hits — three doubles and a homer — in 26 games.

Searching for a way to find his groove, the 25-year-old catcher started watching film of what made him successful at Class AAA Sugar Land last season. That Yainer Diaz hit .294 with a .930 OPS and 16 home runs in just 48 games. That Yainer Diaz managed to be the aggressive hitter he's always been since his days in the Dominican Republic but also strategically patient at the same time.

He needed that Yainer Diaz to show up in the big leagues.

The film session, which happened before the first game of the series against the Twins on May 29, has worked wonders. Since then, Diaz has gone 8-for-15 with three doubles, a home run and five RBIs. Of course, the big night — 4-for-5 with two doubles — that he had in Monday's 11-4 win over the Blue Jays certainly helped boost those numbers.

But Diaz doesn't think this mini hot stretch (which also included a pair of hits and a home run in Sunday's loss to the Angels), in which he's hit safely in four straight games, is a coincidence. The video really did reveal the error of his ways.

"I was swinging at bad pitches," said Diaz, whom the Astros acquired from Cleveland as part of the Myles Straw-for-Phil Maton deal in 2021. "Just seeing that has helped me."

Diaz doesn't walk often, and that isn't likely to change. He has just two walks all season, and none during this current hot streak. Even when he was crushing Class AAA pitching a year ago, he drew only 13 walks in 219 plate appearances. Still, there's a big difference in not drawing walks and getting yourself out by chasing pitches too far out of the strike zone.

"He's still young," Astros manager Dusty Baker said. "We knew he could hit, but it was just a matter of him swinging in the strike zone. That's the case with most aggressive hitters, but you want hitters to be aggressive."

Aggressiveness is not a problem for Diaz, who has taken 46.8 percent of his swings at pitches outside the strike zone. The Astros' best hitters are at about half that, with Alex Bregman chasing just 20 percent of pitches outside the zone and Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker chasing at a 25 percent clip. Jose Altuve, one of the most aggressive hitters in the game, is at about 31 percent for his career.

It's an issue of which Diaz is well aware and bent on correcting, even if he never gets his percentage into the 20s.

"I think I’ve improved," Diaz said. "I still do things out there that shows there's room to improve even more, but from where I was at, I think there's been a big improvement there."

With his bat heating up, Diaz started two games in a row for the first time in his big league career, playing first base Sunday and catching Monday. A 4-for-5 night might be enough to earn him a third straight start, possibly at designated hitter. Either way, Diaz says he'll be at the ballpark early to make sure he stays warm.

"I try to get here early every single day," Diaz said. "Try to get work done before some of the guys who play every day, so that helps me stay in my routine and with my timing."

And it wouldn't be a surprise if he took a peek at more video of his Class AAA days.