The line drive came blistering off Jeff McNeil’s bat and right toward first base.
Lewin Diaz wasn’t going to make a mistake this time.
One play after dropping Jazz Chisholm’s throw from shortstop for what should have been an easy out, Diaz snatched McNeil’s liner — one that came off the bat at 102.5 mph — and quickly dove back to the first-base bag to double up Kevin Pillar to end the first inning in Sunday’s 4-4 tie on Sunday against the New York Mets at Port St. Lucie’s Clover Park.
“Something I learned is once you commit an error, you have to let it go,” Diaz said. “Baseball will give you opportunities to redeem yourself.”
Diaz, seen by the Marlins as their first baseman of the future, also wants to redeem himself on a larger scale after a subpar MLB debut last season.
He slashed just .154/.195/.205 in 14 games with two doubles, three RBI and two runs scored while showing above-average defense at first base.
But Diaz has been looking steady so far in spring training. He’s one of two Marlins players who has appeared in all seven spring games so far (infielder prospect Joe Dunand is the other) and has three hits in 11 at-bats so far this spring. Two of those three hits are doubles.
“Every time I get on the field,” Diaz said, “the confidence is going up.”
On Sunday, Diaz also had two hits, an RBI and a run scored. He recorded an RBI single through the right side in the first inning to open scoring. He also laced a double down the first-base line to lead off the fourth and scored when Pillar dropped a hard-hit fly ball by Monte Harrison.
“He’s looking more comfortable,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “That’s where I’ll start. His at-bats were better today. He’s had some good swings throughout camp. ... Hands are just a touch higher. It’s going to be fun. He’ll get a lot of ABs in spring because there’s not a ton of first basemen in camp.”
The 24-year-old also played Winter ball in the Dominican Republic with Estrellas de Oriente, where he was teammates with Fernando Tatis Jr and Robinson Cano.
“I was always trying to get close to them,” Diaz said, “and get some information. ... [Cano] taught me about how to handle myself in the big leagues.”
Baseball America ranks Diaz as the seventh-best prospect in the Marlins organization. MLB Pipeline has him as the fifth-best first base prospect in baseball.
Diaz described his first trip to the big leagues as a “beautiful experience” but knows the opportunity to return won’t just be handed to him.
“It’s everybody’s dream who plays this game to make it to the majors,” Diaz said. “I have to continue to keep working on swinging at good pitches. I’m planning ahead this year. I’m going to be working on swinging at good pitches and getting good at-bats so that I can go back to the major-league level and stay there for a long time.”
THIS AND THAT
— Pablo Lopez threw three scoreless innings against the Mets on Sunday, his second start this spring. All three innings ended with double plays. Of his 43 pitches, 26 went for strikes.
— Isan Diaz, competing with Chisholm to be the Marlins’ Opening Day starting second baseman, put together three quality plate appearances on Sunday. He saw 19 total pitches and Mattingly called the at-bats Diaz’s “best at-bats of the spring” and noted that Diaz is “starting to get in a little bit of a rhythm.
— Jerar Encarnacion made his 2021 spring training debut on Sunday, replacing Lewin Diaz at first base in the bottom of the fifth. The Marlins still view Encarnacion as an outfielder but believe first base can be a secondary position for him.
