At 26 years old, #45 Indigo Diaz, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound pitcher, has been one of the key components to the Somerset Patriots franchise this year.
Diaz, who was drafted in the 27th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves, has come a long way to get to Somerset. After playing in his younger days, he eventually made it to Michigan State University to play for them during his Junior and Senior years of college.
After getting drafted, he spent 2021-2022 with various teams in the Braves’ organization until he was traded in late December to the New York Yankees organization. The trade consisted of Caleb Durbin and himself, in exchange for Lucas Luetge. From there, he has been with both the Hudson Valley Renegades and Somerset Patriots since.
After coming back from Tommy John surgery in 2023, which completely ended his season, he has worked his way back into the game stronger and better than ever. Between recovering from an injury and surgery, to bouncing from the Renegades to the Patriots, his journey has not been easy.
Despite this, Díaz has been very successful ever since being traded, and has specifically begun to flourish this season with the Patriots. This year alone, he’s pitched seven to 12 innings every month and has appeared in 38 games this season. In these games, he’s earned an ERA of 2.74, as well as a WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) of 1.106. One of his most impressive statistics is pitching a total of 44 strikeouts with still more games to come.
In the last three games he’s pitched, he’s allowed two walks, yet never let up a run. In the 10 innings he pitched in August, he only let up two runs and had three saves.
Diaz has begun to put his name on the board, and likely has much more in store. Keep an eye on Diaz and the Somerset Patriots tomorrow at 6:35pm, when they play the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at home.
