Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Edwin Díaz picked up his sixth save of the year Thursday night, recording two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Díaz now has a 1.50 ERA and has struck out 21 of the 45 batters he’s faced in 12 innings (46.7 percent strikeout rate). A whopping 18 of those 21 strikeouts have been recorded on Díaz’s slider (including both of his punchouts on Thursday), a pitch that gave him trouble when he first came to the Mets in 2019. What exactly has led to this drastic change?
Biggest Differences
In 2019, opponents had a .622 slugging percentage against Díaz’s slider. His slider had just 1.3 inches of break and 28.2 inches of drop, which led to the pitch having a plus-3 run value. While the slider’s whiff rate was still 43 percent, the pitch had a whopping 44.7-percent hard-hit rate, and its putaway percentage was just 25.2.
In 2022, Díaz’s slider has averaged 1.7 inches of break and 30.4 inches of drop, which is the most he’s had on it since 2017. Entering Thursday, Díaz had a 56.1 percent whiff rate on the pitch, as well as a 57.1 strikeout rate. Opponents are hitting just .120 against it with an xwOBA of .166 and a .090 xBA, and the pitch already has a negative-2 run value. Díaz’s put-away percentage is up to 37.2 on his slider, the highest it’s been since 2018.
While Díaz’s fastball has also been very good, he is using his slider on almost 53 percent of his pitches, demonstrating how much trust he has in it this year. The average exit velocity against Díaz’s slider has plummeted from 90.1 miles per hour in 2019 to 83 MPH in 2022. In 2019, he had just 6.7 feet of extension on the pitch, but that number has increased to 7.2 feet this season.
Should the Mets Extend Díaz?
Díaz is set to hit the free-agent market at the conclusion of the 2022 season. While he’s volatile at times, the 28-year-old fireballer has proven that his 2019 season has been put in the rearview mirror. The Mets need to try to extend Díaz, especially since it’s unclear who would be able to close in his place. Should also note that Seth Lugo, Chasen Shreve, Trevor May, and Adam Ottavino are all free agents after this season along with Díaz.
