When he is right, Thomas Diamond is one of baseball’s best prospects. When he isn’t right, which mostly means he isn’t throwing strikes and has high pitch counts, it is clear why the Rangers’ 2004 first-round draft pick (10th overall) hasn’t advanced past Double-A.
Being part of the Texas organization moves him ahead of a lot of similarly equipped pitchers with comparable numbers. The Rangers turned over their entire rotation during the off-season, and have been tinkering with it ever since. That means there’s almost constantly a place in it for Diamond or fellow prospects John Danks (MLN FAB50 Baseball 2006 No. 20) and Edinson Volquez.
Diamond has the size, at 6-3, 245 pounds, and the fastball, with mid-90s velocity when it is right, to succeed in the majors.
He’s just 23, but we haven’t heard as many reports this year as we did in 2005 that his promotion to the Rangers could be imminent.
He began last season nearly unhittable at high Class A Bakersfield. He left the Blaze ablaze, with an 8-0 record and a 1.99 ERA, topped by striking out fourteen batters in a two-hit shutout during his final start.
At Double-A with the Frisco RoughRiders, he was 5-4 with a 5.35 ERA. The combination was enough to make him the Rangers’ Nolan Ryan Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Diamond hasn’t done as well in the Texas League. He struck out more than three batters for every one he walked at Bakersfield, but has fallen short of a 2:1 ratio during the last season-plus at Frisco.
"The hitters are a lot more disciplined at the plate, and they work more counts," explained Diamond, who through the end of July had knocked more than a run off his ERA (to 4.18) and had a 9-5 record.
Tightness in his forearm put him on the disabled list during July, which has dropped seven miles an hour off of his fastball. The drop in speed from his fastball also affected his best other pitch, a changeup, by reducing the difference.
The right-hander out of the University of New Orleans should be able to regain velocity on his fastball, giving him two major league-quality pitches.
To become a Diamond in the rough, he must rediscover how to throw a curve for strikes. Without these things, he will continue to fall behind batters, give up walks and come in with fat, hittable pitches.
The opportunity to move up remains a bigger question mark that will be answered next year. His promise, and his club’s Wild West roster land him in the MLN FAB50 Baseball 2006 rankings at 29.
- Lary BUMP
