Diamondbacks Likely to Call on Yilber Diaz to Start Monday

The D-backs appear to be ready to call up the young right-hander to start against the Braves

Amarillo Sod Poodles Yilber Diaz (17) pitches the ball in a Texas League Championship game against the Arkansas Travelers, Tuesday night, September 26, 2023, at Hodgetown, in Amarillo, Texas. The Arkansas Travelers won 6-5. / Carter Pirtle for the Amarillo

The Arizona Diamondbacks continue to search for answers in their young rotation. According to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert, Arizona is likely to call on young righty Yilber Diaz to make his first MLB start against the Atlanta Braves on Monday.

The D-backs had called up right-hander Cristian Mena, who was hit around before recording an out, but he was sent back down soon after. Now, it will likely be Diaz' turn to get a chance in the show.

Diaz is just a few days removed from one of the best starts by a member of Arizona's farm system this season. In a stellar outing with the Reno Aces, Diaz struck out 13 batters, including seven straight, while allowing two walks, no hits and no runs.

But this isn't solely a recency decision. Diaz, although coming off an incredible outing, has been pitching well across both Double-A and Triple-A this season. He put forward a 4.33 ERA with the Sod Poodles, and has pitched well following his promotion to the Aces, pitching to a 3.27 ERA in Triple-A, with a 3.78 FIP to back up that number.

He's struck out batters at a high rate at both levels, with a 12.83 K/9 in Amarillo and 11.45 K/9 in Reno. He features a plus fastball, and an above-average changeup and slider with potential to develop into plus weapons as well.

Where he's struggled is with command. His command tool is rated relatively low, with a high 4.83 BB/9 in Double-A. He's begun to show signs of development in that department, as he's limited walks in recent starts, and his Triple-A BB/9 has gone down to 3.68. He'll need to continue that trend, as there is much less margin for location mistakes in MLB.

That said, it's encouraging to see how well Diaz has pitched in two hitter-friendly minor league environments. His stuff is solid, as is his velocity, which hovers in the high 90s. Although he's tended to lose some of that velocity as he's gone deeper into starts, his last outing saw less of a drop-off in that range.

Diaz will make his first MLB start in a rotation that is still decimated by injuries. While there have been some examples of excellent starts by some of the younger arms, it's been a struggle to get consistency and length out of Tommy Henry, Slade Cecconi and Ryne Nelson, and the D-backs will look to another young arm to get a shot following a rough start for Mena.