South Side Hit Pen Top Prospect 83: Harold Diaz

Crisp contact: After a strong start to his pro career in the DSL was followed by a tough 2019, Diaz is looking to attack Arizona in 2020. (Sean Williams/South Side Hit Pen)

Harold Diaz
Second Baseman
5´10´´
170 pounds
Age: 20
SSHP rank among all second baseman in the system: 6 

Harold Diaz, a native of Havana, received a $300,000 signing bonus from the White Sox during 2018's International Signing Day. Unlike most prospects who sign on that date, however, Diaz opted to play immediately and actually did quite well. In 2018 for the DSL squad in 18 games, Diaz slashed .290/.388/.406 with four doubles, two triples, seven RBIs, six stolen bases, seven walks (8.8%) and nine strikeouts (11.3%).

In 2019, however, Diaz struggled with his transition Stateside. In 19 games for the AZL White Sox spanning 65 at-bats, he slashed just .215/.278/.338 with three doubles, a triple, a homer, six RBIs, one stolen base, four walks (5.6%) and 17 strikeouts (23.6%). As opposed to last year, when he split much of his time also at shortstop and the hot corner, Diaz spent this year exclusively at second base and did relatively well. However, with his struggles offensively, expect to see him return to the AZL for 2020.