Below is the second part of a four-part series titled “Jake’s Player Profile”. Each Monday for four weeks I will post a quick profile of my four favorite Braves. I will tell you why I like them, what they did in 2009, and my prediction for what they will do in 2010. Here’s my profile of Matt Diaz:

Why I like him: A word that is overused way too much in sports is “gamer”. However, it’s hard for me to find a better adjective to describe Matt Diaz. He always plays hard and seems to love playing the game of baseball. Matt has never let the fact that he has spent his entire major league career as a platoon player slow him down and that’s something that you have to respect. There’s just some guys that I love to watch play the game and Matt Diaz is one of those guys.

What he did in 2009: Diaz spent most of 2009 platooning in LF with Garret Anderson. However he did find starting time in RF when Francoeur was struggling and when Ryan Church was injured. He made the most of the time that he saw at the plate and he finished the season with a career high 377 at bats. He also toppped his career numbers in OBP (.390), SLG (.488), and HR (13). Matt was a solid bat in the lineup and really led the way for the Braves down the stretch when they went on a tear during the month of September.

My 2010 prediction: Matt will most likely spend most of the 2010 season platooning left with Melky Cabrera. However if the Braves feel that Jason Heyward is not ready for the majors out of spring training Diaz will likely keep right field warm until Heyward is ready to make that leap. My hope is that the Braves will take notice of the hard work that Matt has put forth and offer him the everyday LF spot. I predict that if he can see the 500+ at bats that everyday players get that his HR totals will certainly improve. I know that if he’s given the opportunity Matt will continue to have great success at the major league level and 2010 will be another good one for Matty Diaz!