The Arizona Diamondbacks named Single-A Visalia INF José Mejía and Triple-A Reno RHP Yilber Díaz the organization’s Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month for April.
JOSÉ MEJÍA MiLB Bio
- Reached base safely in 20 of his 21 games with the Rawhide, hitting .366 (26-for-71)/1.111 OPS with 4 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs, 15 RBI, 19 walks (16 K) and 3 stolen bases.
- Ranked among California League leaders in OBP (1st, .505), OPS (1st, 1.111), AVG (T-2nd, .366), SLG (3rd, .606) and walks (3rd, 19).
- Led all D-backs farmhands in OBP (.505) and OPS (1.111) and was second in AVG (.366) and SLG (.606).
- Reached base multiple times in 17 games, including a season-high 4 times twice on April 23 @ Lake Elsinore (4 BB) and April 28 vs. San Jose (3 H, BB).
- Hit safely in 8 of his 9 home games, batting .406 (13-for-32)/1.200 OPS with 3 doubles, 2 homers, 5 RBI and 6 walks.
- Reached base safely in 11 of his 12 road games, hitting .333 (13-for-39)/1.038 OPS with 1 double, 2 triples, 1 homer, 10 RBI and 13 walks (8 K).
- Started the season with a 10-game hitting streak, tied for the longest streak by a D-backs’ Minor Leaguer this season (also: Ben McLaughlin with Double-A Amarillo), batting .406 (13-for-32)/1.107 OPS with 1 double, 1 triple, 1 homer, 7 RBI and 6 walks.
- righties, hit .367 (22-for-60)/1.067 OPS with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers, 10 RBI and 15 walks…vs. lefties, hit .364 (4-for-11)/1.352 OPS with 1 triple, 1 homer, 5 RBI and 4 walks.
- Acquired by the D-backs on Feb. 5 from the Orioles with RHP Kade Strowd and RHP Wellington Aracena for INF Blaze Alexander.
YILBER DÍAZ MiLB Bio
- Went scoreless in 9 of his 10 appearances with the Aces, going 2-0 with 1 save, a 0.66 ERA (1 ER in 13.2 IP), opponent .156 AVG (7-for-45)/.462 OPS, 0.80 WHIP, 4 walks and 19 strikeouts.
- His 0.66 ERA ranked second among all Triple-A relievers (min. 10 G), behind Franco Aleman/Columbus (0.00, 11 G).
- Led all D-backs’ Minor League relievers in games (10) and ERA (0.66).
- Went scoreless vs. righties (34 BF, 0 ER in 9.2 IP) with an opponent .071 AVG (2-for-28), 3 walks and 11 strikeouts.
- Did not allow an earned run in 3 straight 2.0+-inning outings on April 11 vs. Salt Lake, April 15 vs. Las Vegas and April 18 vs. Las Vegas (1 R-0 ER in 6.1 IP, H, 2 BB, 9 K).
- Notched his second Minor League save on April 30 vs. Sugar Land (0 ER in 1.0 IP, K, 10 P).
- Signed as a non-drafted free agent on Feb. 5, 2021.
Every month during the season, the D-backs’ Player Development staff chooses the player and pitcher most deserving of the honors based on nominations from coaches at each affiliate along with input from the Minor League coordinators. Below is a list of the overall winners as well as players nominated by each affiliate:
APRIL
OVERALL
RENO
AMARILLO
HILLSBORO
VISALIA
PLAYER
José
Mejía
Ryan Waldschmidt
Manuel Pena
Alberto Barriga
José
Mejía
PITCHER
Yilber
Díaz
Yilber
Díaz
Antonio Menendez
Junior Sanchez
Junior
Ciprian