Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Yandy Díaz has been the team’s best hitter over the first 62 games. Yandy Díaz is batting .344 with 12 home runs and 45 runs batted in.

These numbers are much better than the first 62 games of 2025. He hit .252, with 9 home runs and 37 runs batted in. The better results may be due to a change in his swing. Yandy Díaz has been working to keep his front hip from turning too soon when he bats.

Over the first 62 games of 2025, Yandy Díaz  had a stance angle of 32 degrees open and an intercept point of 1.5 inches.

These parts of his swing made his front hip turn as soon as he started to swing. As a result, his front hip and leg would move toward the side of the field as he hit the ball. This made it harder for him to hit the ball hard, since he needs both legs under him to do so.

Consequently, he also had a ground ball rate of 55.9%. The high ground ball rate obviously limited his ability to hit the baseball in the air. He had only a 19.7% fly-ball rate and a 20.7% line-drive rate. These two percentages contributed to him hitting 44.1% of baseballs in the air.

However, he has made some changes to his hitting approach this year, which have helped him drive the baseball. Yandy Díaz has narrowed his stance angle to 26 degrees open. 

His starting point for the swing is now 0.6 inches. These changes have helped keep his front hip in the zone when he starts swinging. His hips only turn when he moves his hands to hit the ball. 

By keeping both legs under him, he has reduced his ground-ball rate to 48.6%. The decrease in his ground-ball rate meant an increase in fly balls. He has a fly-ball rate of 22.6% and a line-drive rate of 23.6%.

The changes Diaz has made allow him to keep his lower body in the zone longer. As a result, his batting average has increased by 92 percentage points from the first 62 games of that season. He also has four home runs and eight runs driven in compared to last season.