Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz is back behind the plate and will hit seventh for Friday's series opener against the division-rival Los Angeles Angels and left-hander Tyler Anderson at Daikin Park. Diaz missed the last two games of the series against the Colorado Rockies this week with a hand injury but is good to go to begin the weekend series against the Halos. The 26-year-old backstop has faced Anderson 13 times in his career and is hitting .231 with a .517 OPS. The Dominican catcher is having another fine season as Houston's starting catcher, though, batting .257 (114-for-444) with 18 home runs, 55 RBI and 46 runs scored in 116 games played. Diaz will also enter Friday's series opener with a modest five-game hitting streak that has seen him go 7-for-19 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored in 22 plate appearances.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz (hand) remains out of action for Thursday's series finale against the visiting Colorado Rockies at Daikin Park. Cesar Salazar is starting again behind the plate and will catch right-hander Jason Alexander while batting ninth against Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland. This will be the third straight game that Diaz has not played due to a hand injury, but he should be considered day-to-day. With Victor Caratini going on the seven-day concussion injured list on Wednesday, Salazar will continue to back up Diaz for now. The 29-year-old Mexican catcher is in his third big-league season, but Thursday's game will only be his 35th in the big leagues since debuting in Houston in 2023. So far through nine games in 2025, he's gone 1-for-9 at the plate with a walk and a strikeout. Fantasy managers will want to avoid him in DFS.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz (hand) is out of the starting lineup ahead of Wednesday's game against the Colorado Rockies. Diaz was hit by a pitch on the left wrist during Sunday's game. He has been sidelined since then, but is available to come off the bench as a pinch-hitter. Fellow catcher Victor Caratini (head) is in concussion protocol at the moment. That being said, Cesar Salazer will do the catching for lefty Framber Valdez on Wednesday. Fantasy managers should consider Diaz as day-to-day. He figures to be back in the lineup within the next day or two.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz turned in a productive game in a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. Diaz went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer, two runs, and one RBI in the win. The veteran catcher pushed the Astros' lead to 4-1 with his solo homer in the eighth inning, going back-to-back with Christian Walker in the frame. Diaz is now slashing .248/.280/.411 with 11 doubles, 12 homers, 33 runs, and 37 RBI in 302 at-bats this season. He has been hot of late, hitting .320 with two homers in his past seven games. Diaz remains a solid fantasy catcher in all formats.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz won't be in the team's lineup for the final game of their series with the hosting Colorado Rockies. The Dominican Republic native got the starting nod for the previous six contests, but he'll take a seat with Houston squaring off against left-handed pitcher Kyle Freeland. Victor Caratini will cover behind home plate in his stead and bat sixth. Diaz has had a tough time getting going this year, but he's underproducing his expected stats by a decent margin. He's a candidate for positive regression, considering not much has changed in his underlying profile. However, it's worth noting that the 26-year-old has struggled mightily against righties (.231) after batting .297 or better against them the past two campaigns.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz is out of Monday's lineup against the Athletics. This breaks a streak of eight straight starts, and he has started 63 of Houston's 72 games this season. The 26-year-old had a slow start to the year but is batting .295 with two home runs over the past two weeks. His season batting average is still a disappointing .243, but the backstop's nine home runs are already over halfway to the 16 he hit in 2024. Victor Caratini will get the start in his place but expect Diaz to be back in the lineup tomorrow.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz is not in the starting nine on Saturday when they continue a series against the Seattle Mariners. Diaz has started each of the previous three contests. Over this stretch, the backstop has held a .273/.429/.273 line with a 5:2 K:BB. Since the start of May, Diaz has begun to turn the corner following his slow start, holding a .273/.318/.425 slash line with three doubles, three home runs, and a 16:3 K:BB. Fantasy managers should expect the 26-year-old to return to the starting nine on Sunday. This afternoon, the Astros will give the starting nod to switch-hitter Victor Caratini, who will bat in the five-hole. However, he is best left out of your DFS lineups, facing Seattle right-hander Bryan Woo, who enters this game holding a 2.65 ERA.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz hit his fourth home run of the season on Sunday, a three-run shot in a 6-0 win over the Reds. He's now slashing .238/.267/.385 on the season, but that doesn't necessarily tell the whole story. He was one of the coldest hitters in baseball through the first couple of weeks of 2025, but he has quietly been himself as of late. Heading into Sunday, he was batting .304 over the past month and .370 in the past two weeks. The 26-year-old remains the best option for batting average at the position and looks to be on his way to another season as one of the best offensive catchers in the league.

Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez and catcher Yainer Diaz are resting in Wednesday's series finale against the visiting Detroit Tigers. Outfielder Jose Altuve is serving as the DH and is batting second, while Victor Caratini is doing the catching and hitting fifth against Tigers rookie right-hander Jackson Jobe. Zach Dezenzo is in left field and is hitting eighth. Alvarez had an undisclosed injury scare on Monday and was pulled early against Detroit, but he returned to action on Tuesday and went 1-for-4 with an RBI in the 6-4 victory. It's still early, but the three-time All-Star hasn't been his normal self in 2025 to this point with a .219/.316/.354 slash line and three homers in 96 at-bats. Diaz will get a breather after starting the last four games. He, too, has also struggled at the plate early on, going 17-for-91 (.187) with two homers, 12 RBI and eight runs scored for Houston.

Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz will get the day off on Friday for the series opener in Kansas City against the Royals. Victor Caratini will replace him behind the plate and catch right-hander Hayden Wesneski while batting seventh against Royals veteran right-hander Seth Lugo. Diaz will get a day off to start the series in KC after getting off to a sluggish start to the season with the bat. The 26-year-old Dominican backstop has gone 13-for-75 (.173) with just one home run, eight RBI, six runs scored, three walks and 16 strikeouts in his first 20 games. The good news, though, is that he went 4-for-12 with a double, triple and RBI in the team's recent three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays, so fantasy managers will be hoping he can continue that this weekend. Caratini has hit .429 with an .858 OPS in seven career at-bats against Lugo, but he still represents a weak DFS play at the position.

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.