CBN Player of the Week: Indigo Diaz
Former Coquitlam Red Indigo Diaz (North Vancouver, BC) worked three scoreless, hitless innings and picked up a save for double-A Mississippi Braves.
May 10, 2022
By George Farelli
Canadian Baseball Network
Indigo Diaz is a stud at 6-foot-5 and 250 lbs.
But what does the word Indigo mean?
We looked it up and we read ...
“Indigo is a unisex baby name of Greek origin. Indigo means ‘dye from India’ and refers to a color between purple and blue.”
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos hitters weren’t concerned with the meaning of Diaz’s first name. They were trying to figure out a way to get a hit off Diaz. A former Coquitlam Red, Diaz (North Vancouver, BC) worked three scoreless innings in relief for the Mississippi Braves.
Diaz, whose fastball has been clocked anywhere between 93-97 mph, earned Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Week honours for Week V. The weekly honor goes to the best of the 73 Canadians in the minors.
After playing for Coquitlam, he attended Michigan State and was a 27th round by Alex Anthopoulos (Montreal, Que.) and his scouting staff.
How the week went for Diaz ...
_ He put up a zero, working the ninth in an 8-3 loss to Pensacola before 1,757 fans at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss. He needed eight pitches -- eight strikes -- to get through the inning.
_ The next night he put up another zero in a scoreless eighth as Mississippi scored a 2-1 win in front of 1,856 fans. Diaz fanned one, getting the other two outs on a fly ball and a grounder. He needed 13 pitches -- eight strikes.
_ Three days later, again against Pensacola, he recorded the save in a 6-3 victory before 1,632. Diaz walked one and struck out a pair in his 18-pitch -- 10 strikes -- outing.
So in three innings he allowed zero hits and zero runs while walking one and fanned five.
Offensive numbers
Player/Class/Team AB R H HR RBI AVG
Jared Young - AAA Iowa 26 6 13 3 4 .500
Edouard Julien - AA Wichita 12 4 6 - 5 .500
Charles Leblanc - AAA Jacksonville 24 3 8 - 5 .333
Bo Naylor - AA Akron 12 3 4 - 3 .333
T.J. Schofield-Sam - A Stockton 19 3 6 - 1 .316
Kole Cottam - AA Portland 10 1 3 - 2 .300
(Minimum 10 ABs)
Best Pitching
Indigo Diaz RHP - AA Mississippi Braves
GM W SV ER ERA H IP K WHIP
3 - 1 - 0.00 - 3.0 5 0.00
Diaz is a 23-year-old Atlanta Braves prospect pitching with double-A Mississippi in the Southern League. Only in his third season, he has quickly become a key member of the Braves’ bullpen, and this past week made three solid relief appearances, all against Pensacola.
On May 4, in a 8-3 loss he pitched one scoreless inning and gave up zero hits while striking out two, but was not involved in the decision. The next night on May 5, in a 2-1 Mississippi victory, he threw another scoreless, allowed zero hits while striking out one batter, and was credited with a hold.
Then on May 8, in a 6-3 win, he had another perfect inning, surrendering zero hits and while striking out two to earned his second save of the season.
His overall record with Mississippi in 11 relief appearances, now stands at 0-2, two saves and a 4.09 ERA.
Canadian Baseball Network
Minor League Player of the Week
Week I - INF Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.) Marlins
Week II _ OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) A’s
Week III _ OF Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) Brewers