St. Louis Cardinals: Aledmys Diaz’s Two-Home Run Game Could Prompt Sophomore Surge

The St. Louis Cardinals only have three home runs through their first five games, with two of these round-trippers currently belong to shortstop Aledmys Diaz.

The St. Louis Cardinals seem to have found their home-run-ways (maybe). This follows a 10-4 victory where Aledmys Diaz picked up both of his home runs on the young season (video below). The first, a solo home run off Bronson Arroyo that traveled 381 feet; the second, a three-run home run that also traveled 381 feet off Arroyo.

With his first-ever multi-home-run game, Diaz became the first St. Louis Cardinals shortstop to reach this accomplishment since Edgar Renteria in 2003. Only nine other shortstops in franchise history have collected at least two home runs in a game.

His multi-home-run game proceeds a remarkable rookie season last year where he hit a home run in his first game back after his late friend Jose Fernandez‘s death. Not to mention, a midseason walk-off that completed a four-game sweep of the Padres and a go-ahead home run that resulted in St. Louis’s first win last season.

In terms of single-game performances by Cardinals shortstops, Diaz is quietly moving into elite company. Delivering all of these fine moments at age 26 or younger, the shortstop continues to embrace large roles with the Cardinals that challenge any doubt he can improve upon a rookie campaign that resulted in All-Star team honors.

One immediate focus early into the season has been Diaz’s plate discipline. He has yet to draw a walk this season, but has only struck out once in twenty-three plate appearances. The ability to put the ball in play for most of his given at-bats so far is significant for situational purposes, especially in knowing when to make contact on the ground or in the air to help base runners advance or score.

The plate discipline has carried over into challenging pitchers deeper into counts as well. All but two of his hits this season have came with at least one strike so far. He hit at least .269 after all counts with two strikes in 2016, better than most St. Louis hitters who fall behind in the count.

More from St Louis Cardinals News

• Cardinals: Putting together a trade for Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds
• Cardinals: 3 insider insights as St. Louis approach the Winter Meetings
• St. Louis Cardinals: 3 free agent bench options to consider
• John Mozeliak gives an update on the St. Louis Cardinals off-season plans
• Cardinals: Adam Wainwright commits to Team USA for the WBC

And the fundamental improvements have not stopped at the hitting spectrum. Defensively, Diaz has only committed two errors between Spring Training and regular season, which over the course of 162-game season would translate to nearly two fewer errors than the sixteen errors he had in 107 contests last year.

Considering that the Cardinals developed Diaz as a second baseman in the minor leagues prior to last year, it’s been crucial for him to find a niche at shortstop. Without many competitors urging for starts at shortstop behind him, Diaz will receive ample opportunities to improve inconsistencies in his arm strength and glove positioning from last year.

Diaz could also prove sneaky across the bath paths this year. On Opening Night, he swiped two bases against Chicago Cubs starter Jon Lester, becoming the first Cardinal  with a pair of stolen bases in a season opener since Tony Womack in 2004.

For a Cardinals team that placed in the league’s bottom five teams for stolen bases in three of the last four years, Diaz could become a catalyst for improvements in the team’s running game. Diaz will play a table setter role that Matt Carpenter previously embraced last year, but his footwork and offensive capabilities provide a strong bridge between Carpenter and new leadoff hitter Dexter Fowler in the lineup.

Diaz’s 3.53 WAR last year ranked fifth among National League shortstops and only trailed Addison Russell for positional counterparts in the National League Central. This was also the best single-season rating among the Cardinals’ past eight Opening Day shortstops other than the 5.7 mark that Jhonny Peralta in 2014.

An extension could be in the works for Diaz in the near future, as the Cardinals handed out contract extensions to Yadier Molina and Stephen Piscotty since last week. Diaz is currently in the final year of a two-year, $8 million contract he signed in 2014, but will be under team control until 2019 though international free agency rules.

Next: First Turn Through The Rotation

Shortstop has been a game of musical chairs for the Cardinals since David Eckstein left, as no one who has followed has held a clear starting threshold at shortstop for longer than two years. Diaz could be the first to break the trend, but it will take a feasible extension and more significant second-year strides to happen.