Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz was just 2-for-33 on the season coming into Friday's game against the Angels, but he broke through in a big way, going 3-for-5 with a double, his first home run of the season, and five RBI. His home run was a grand slam in the fifth inning off of relief pitcher Garrett McDaniels, and he added his RBI double in the sixth to help power the Astros to a 14-3 victory. Diaz is still hitting just .132 over his first 10 games of the season with a .199 wOBA, but hopefully, this is a sign that he's ready to snap out of his slump and go on a roll. Last year, he had 16 homers and a .329 wOBA with 84 RBI in 148 games, and his fantasy managers will hope this big game gets him back on track.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz is not in the starting nine when the Astros travel to Minnesota to face the Twins on Thursday afternoon. Diaz has been behind the dish in each of the past three contests but will cede duties to Victor Caratini this afternoon. Caratini will bat in the six-hole. Over his past three contests, Diaz tallied just one hit across 11 at-bats and struck out twice through five total games. Diaz has tallied just two hits and held a 1:4 BB:K. Fantasy managers should expect Diaz to return to the starting nine on Saturday afternoon when they continue this three-game set against the Twins. Caratini has seen four at-bats and tallied one hit. He is best to leave out of your DFS lineup this afternoon facing Minnesota right-hander Joe Ryan, who allowed one run across five innings in his last start.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz is not in Saturday's lineup for the final game of their opening series against the New York Mets. Diaz got the starting nod behind the dish for the first two games and went 1-for-7 at the plate with one RBI and a 1:2 BB:K. Instead, Victor Caratini will get the nod behind the dish and bat sixth. Fantasy managers should expect Diaz to return to the starting nine on Monday evening when the Astros host the San Francisco Giants. Diaz enjoyed a breakout campaign last season as he appeared in a career-high 148 contests and posted a .299/.325/.441 slash line with 16 long balls and two stolen bases. Caratini held a .268/.336/.408 slash line last season and is worth a look in DFS as a value option facing Griffin Canning. Caratini should see several RBI opportunities batting in the heat of a potent Houston lineup.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz (illness) is returning to the starting lineup on Sunday afternoon. The primary backstop was dealing with an illness. Fantasy managers should expect the 26-year-old to operate as Houston's top catcher during the 2025 season. After appearing in 104 contests in 2023, Diaz logged a career-high 148 starts in 2024. Across this stint, Diaz posted a .299/.325/.441 slash line. His batting average was the fifth-highest mark in the American League. Diaz tallied 29 doubles and 16 home runs. He added 70 runs and 84 RBI. Under the hood, Diaz placed in the 97th percentile in xBA and 80th percentile in xSLG. In addition, Diaz held a 17.4 percent strikeout rate while generating hard hits at a strong 47.5 percent rate. Fantasy managers should view Diaz as a high-floor No.1 catcher in all formats.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz is receiving a breather in the series finale on Wednesday versus the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. With Diaz on the bench, Victor Caratini is behind the plate and is catching rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti while batting fifth against Phillies right-hander Taijuan Walker. It's a normal day of rest for Diaz in the matinee affair after a night game. The 25-year-old is in the midst of a second straight strong season for the Astros, slashing .297/.323/.456 with 16 home runs, 72 RBI and 57 runs scored in a career-high 121 games as the team's primary catcher. His power has been down a bit this year, but fantasy managers can't really complain at a shallow position. Caratini has hit a solid .273 (45-for-165) in a backup role but has limited power (six homers). He's also hitting .143 in seven career at-bats against Walker.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz played the hero in Monday's 5-4 win over the Red Sox. Diaz, who played first base and catcher, went 2-for-5 with a single, a walk-off solo home run, and a strikeout. The 25-year-old connected with a Kenley Jansen pitch and sent it off the top of the back left-field wall in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Astros the win. Diaz has been a fantasy asset in the second half of the season, slashing .345/.372/.593 with seven HR and 21 RBI in 113 second-half at-bats. He should continue to be in fantasy managers' lineups at all times when he is in the lineup, given his production at a weak fantasy position.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz helped the team take down the hosting Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Friday night's win, blasting his 11th home run of the year. Diaz added some insurance in Friday night's come-from-behind victory against Boston in the ninth inning with a two-run homer off Red Sox left-hander Cam Booser, which was a 448-foot moonshot over the Green Monster. Since the start of June, the 25-year-old hard-hitting backstop is batting .349 (73-for-209) with eight home runs, 10 doubles, 38 RBI, and 30 runs scored in his last 52 games for the Astros during his first year as Houston's everyday catcher.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz excelled at the plate with a four-hit performance, including his 10th home run in Tuesday's 6-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Diaz has put his hat in the ring as one of the best catchers in fantasy baseball this season with his .295 batting average and double-digit home runs. He's been incredibly hot at the plate in July, hitting .330 with a .350 OBP, three home runs, and 17 RBI. Diaz may not have the power stroke these other catchers have, but he makes up for it in different categories. The 25-year-old is second amongst catchers in total hits (109) and fourth in RBI (58). He's a bit of a liability in OBP leagues, with only 15 walks on the season. Still, as long as he keeps hitting in the middle of that Houston Astros order, he should provide plenty of value for fantasy managers in all league formats.

The Athletic's Chandler Rome suggests the Houston Astros could move catcher Yainer Diaz to first base, perhaps putting him in a platoon with the left-handed-hitting Jon Singleton on days he does not catch, when Victor Caratini returns from a hip-flexor strain. The Astros haven't ruled out Diaz playing first base, and he took ground balls at the position during the team's final homestand before the All-Star break. Since the team released veteran first baseman Jose Abreu, Singleton is hitting .301/.374/.411 in 83 plate appearances, but it remains to be seen if the Astros believe that is sustainable. If Houston decides to seek an upgrade at first on the trade market, Tampa Bay Rays corner infielders Isaac Paredes and Yandy Diaz could both be targets.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz had a big night at the plate in his team's 9-1 win over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday. Diaz went 3-for-4 with three RBI to help propel his team to victory. The veteran backstop got the scoring started for the Astros with an RBI single in the first inning and then later came back and knocked in two more runs with a sixth-inning single. Diaz is now hitting .286 with seven homers, 38 runs, 48 RBI, and a stolen base across 311 at-bats in 2024. He has been on fire of late, hitting .406 with 14 RBI over his past 15 games.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz had a solid day at the plate during Sunday's game against the Baltimore Orioles. Diaz went 3-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored during Sunday's win. All of his hits were singles, but fantasy managers will take a three-RBI game any day. This season Diaz is slashing .264/.292/.412 with seven home runs and 37 RBI. It's certainly not elite numbers, but he's contributing enough at the catcher spot for fantasy purposes.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz went 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored in Friday's 7-1 victory over the Angels. One of the hits was a home run, Diaz's seventh of the season, and it was the backstop's fourth consecutive game with a home run. Diaz had a breakout campaign in 2023, belting 23 long balls with a .282 average in just 104 games played, so expectations were high coming into 2024. Managers who drafted the catcher were likely disappointed with his production prior to this recent outburst, as the 25-year-old's last home run came on April 11, a stretch of 39 games and 142 at-bats without one. His recent four-game stretch has put him solidly in the Top-12 for fantasy now. He'll have a challenge continuing the HR streak Saturday against the Angels' LHP Tyler Anderson, who Diaz is 0-for-3 off of in his career with three strikeouts.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer in Tuesday's victory against the St. Louis Cardinals. The home run would be his second in as many games and his fifth of the season. Diaz is now hitting .249 and has driven in 28 runs this season. The 25-year-old backstop entered the season as a popular sleeper behind the dish, but struggled before the beginning of this week. It's nice to see Diaz enjoy the Cardinals pitching and hopefully this is a sign of better times to come from here on out. Diaz remains the Astros everyday catcher and is a worthy option in most formats moving forward.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz is out of the starting lineup on Sunday against the visiting Minnesota Twins for the second straight day. Victor Caratini will do the catching again for right-hander Hunter Brown and will bat in the seven-hole for the team against Twins rookie right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson. The Astros are hoping a few days away from the game will let Diaz clear his head during a pretty bad slump. The 25-year-old Dominican backstop hit just .200 (17-for-85) with no homers, five doubles, 10 RBI, one walk and 15 strikeouts in 89 plate appearances over 25 games (23 starts) in the month of May to drop his season slash line to .249/.278/.358 with three homers and 23 RBI in 205 plate appearances. Caratini has hit .247 (19-for-77) on the year with three homers and 14 RBI and will be a low-upside catching option in DFS.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz is out of the team's starting lineup for Wednesday's series finale against the visiting Los Angeles Angels. In his place, Victor Caratini will do the catching for right-hander Hunter Brown and will bat in the nine-hole for the Astros against Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson. With a scheduled day off coming on Thursday for Houston, fantasy managers should expect Diaz to be back in there on Friday for a series opener in Oakland against the Athletics. Diaz is currently slashing .264/.297/.385 with three home runs, 22 RBI and 18 runs scored in 174 at-bats as the Astros' primary catcher in 2024. The switch-hitting Caratini has gone 16-for-64 (.250) this year as the backup with two homers and 11 RBI. He's hitless in three career at-bats against Anderson and should be avoided in DFS lineups.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz continued his strong start of the season on Thursday versus the Kansas City Royals. Diaz went 2-for-5 on the day with a home run. The home run would be the third of the season for the 25-year-old. Diaz has become the full-time catcher with veteran Martin Maldonado signing with the Chicago White Sox this offseason and the move has worked to perfection thus far. Diaz has not only been a solid bat in the middle of the lineup, but he is hitting a healthy .333 with three homers and seven RBI in 51 games. As a fixture in one of the better lineups in the league and at a tough position, fantasy managers must be thrilled with their early return on investment with Diaz.

Yainer Diaz has accepted the role of full-time catcher for the Houston Astros. The 25-year-old is reportedly going to "let things flow" this year, refusing to let the pressure overwhelm him. Houston's new manager Joe Espada showed his support for Daz, stating that he is "ready for the challenge." Daz was certainly up to the challenge in 2023, mashing 23 homes in just 104 games. Looking ahead, the Astros believe he will be a solid catcher for the foreseeable future.

Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown said the team will be on the lookout for backup catcher options this offseason, as they plan to enter the 2024 season with Yainer Diaz as "the guy." Martin Maldonado was the club's primary backstop in 2023, but he will head to free agency this winter. The Astros saw enough from Diaz this year to move forward with him as their starting catcher in 2024. In 355 at-bats, the 25-year-old Dominican hit .282 (100-for-355) with 23 home runs, 22 doubles, 60 RBI and 51 runs scored in 377 plate appearances in his first full major-league season. For the power alone, Diaz will be an intriguing fantasy option at a weak position as he sees even more playing time next year for the Astros.

Houston Astros infielders Yainer Diaz and Mauricio Dubon are making their first starts of the American League Division Series in Game 3 on Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins and right-hander Sonny Gray. Diaz is the designated hitter and is batting sixth, while Dubon will start in center field and hit in the seven-hole. Michael Brantley and Chas McCormick will retreat to the bench. Diaz, 25, hit a strong .282/.308/.538 with an .846 OPS, 23 home runs, 60 RBI and 51 runs scored in 355 at-bats in his first full major-league season this year, but he's been limited to one pinch-hitting appearance in his first two postseason games to this point. Dubon also had an impressive regular season (.278 average) with 10 homers and seven steals in 467 at-bats.

Houston Astros catcher/designated hitter Yainer Diaz is not in the club's starting lineup Monday versus the Mariners and right-hander Luis Castillo. Diaz collected an RBI single in four at-bats in Sunday's 6-5 loss to the Royals and will begin a three-game set with the division-rival Mariners on the bench Monday. The rookie has enjoyed a big season at the plate, hitting .285 with 23 home runs and an .853 OPS across 372 plate appearances. Additionally, his .370 xwOBA sits above his current .356 wOBA, suggesting he had indeed been deserving of his results at the plate. With fellow backstop Martin Maldonado hitting free agency after the season, the 25-year-old Diaz could become the club's primary backstop if the veteran walks on the open market.