Player Name: Jason Diaz
Position: P
School: Kellenberg
Jason is a 2019 graduate of Kellenberg HS. He is 5’11” 180 lbs.
He begins his windup with his hands at the waist and a short step back as he prepares to begin his leg kick. At balance point, he is in terrific position to generate power. His back leg his firm, his leg is high and tight and his eyes stay locked in on the target. He has a long arm circle and his linear motion generates a great amount of force towards the plate. Jason is able to stay closed until the perfect time, which allows for him to have a consistent release point and also generating torque. He has a good stride but he does step towards third base slightly. His arm angle is 3/4, very reminiscent of fellow Long Islander Marcus Stroman . The only improvement I would make to his delivery is his finish. It is common for a pitcher so young to lack this component of the delivery, it is probably the most overlooked part because the pitch is being delivered but he can definitely add a few more ticks with that improvement alone.
Diaz sat at 81-83 but touched 86 MPH with the heater. He threw an 84 MPH two-seamer with heavy tail that was quite amazing for a pitcher that that young. He showed a 73-78 MPH change up. That is a rather large range. While it is good to mix up the speeds, throwing it at the lower end of that spectrum will probably allow it to be more successful unless you have downward drop like Pedro Martinez. He showed a curve and slider–the slider was much more effective and that’s because of his arm angle. It is difficult to create the necessary tilt on a curveball when thrown from a low 3/4 delivery. The slider will be a wipe out pitch and he showed flashes of it when he released it from the proper release point.
Diaz was the player with the highest ceiling at this showcase. With his youth, slider and lightning arm he showed the potential to be a Division-I starter. The similarities are there between him and Stroman. Stat tuned to this young stud.
