Salt River notes: Diaz widens horizons

Isan Diaz is looking to ride the momentum from his breakout season into the Arizona Fall League with the Salt River Rafters -- and continue to add some defensive versatility along the way.

After Milwaukee acquired the young shortstop from Arizona in the Jean Segura trade, the Brewers No. 8 prospect flourished with his new organization. Not only did the 20-year-old set the pace in the Midwest League with a career-high 20 home runs, he also ranked first in games played with 135 and second in walks with 72.

"Coming to a new organization, I tried my best not to put any extra pressure on myself," the Puerto Rico native said. "It felt good that the Brewers picked me out of all those players to trade for, so I just used that as motivation to try and prove myself to the team."

Diaz's first season with Milwaukee was so impressive that the organization tabbed him as their Minor League Player of the Year and reserved a place for him in the Arizona Fall League.

"It was a great honor to get the award," Diaz said. "I didn't go into the season with winning the award in mind, but it's cool to be recognized and it was an honor to be asked to play on this team. It's cool to be back in the Arizona Diamondbacks complex, and to be in the clubhouse is a real pleasure."

Diaz slashed .264/.358/.469 for Wisconsin in 2016 and, after starting the year exclusively at shortstop, saw more and more time at second base as the season wore on. In addition to continuing his work at the plate, the 2014 first-round pick is excited to show that he can handle either position going forward.

"I'm continuing to work on keeping my approach consistent," Diaz explained. "Not just at the plate, but in the field as well. I'll see time at second base and at shortstop here and I want to show that I can play either position. I'm happy to play wherever they want me to."

In six games with Salt River, Diaz is slashing .222/.222/.444 with a home run, three doubles and six RBIs. The young infielder has already turned the heads of some his Salt River teammates, including Braves No. 9 prospect Travis Demeritte.

"[Diaz] is one player that has particularly stood out to me," Demeritte said of his AFL teammate. "He's been pretty fun to watch. I've watched how he goes about his business at a young age. The things he can do with the bat and in the field, he's a really impressive young player and reminds me of a younger Robinson Cano."

In brief

Moore is better: After acquiring Dylan Moore from Texas in the middle of August for future considerations, the Braves sent him to Salt River of the Arizona Fall League to get a longer look at their new utility player. The change of scenery has provided a jolt for the 24-year-old, who hit .467 with a pair of homers in his first four games with the Rafters. The University of Florida, who saw time at every position last season except for catcher and posted a .415 OBP in 10 games with Class A Advanced Carolina after the trade, slashed .269/.379/.441 with 14 homers and 63 RBIs between Class A and Class A Advanced overall in 2016.

Spurlin hurlin': This season, Brewers reliever Tyler Spurlin made the jump from Class A Advanced Brevard County to Double-A Biloxi. Now testing his stuff against some of the best hitters the Minor Leagues has to offer, the 25-year-old right-hander has been impressive out of the Salt River bullpen with a 1.42 ERA and 0.79 WHIP in 6 1/3 innings.