There are tangible things to explain Derek Diamond's improved performance in 2026.
A new breaking ball, for instance.
And extra life on his heater.
But the real difference — and why Diamond was recognized as Pittsburgh’s Kent Tekulve Reliever of the Year Wednesday — rests between the ears.
“I matured,” Diamond said. “You play the game for so long and get beat up. You either let it beat you or make an adjustment.
“This year I finally made a little adjustment, where I broadened my perspective and relaxed a little bit. That’s really where the true strides came.”
Diamond has carved out a unique place as a prospect. He’s 25 years old with just 43 innings of experience at Triple-A. Not exactly a sparkling resume.
At the same time, he’s traveling a familiar path as a failed starter turned reliever and might’ve found something this season, going 7-0 with two saves, a 2.48 ERA, 57 strikeouts and a 1.02 WHIP in 37 games across several levels.
Diamond was proud of how he finished the year. With Indianapolis, yes. And with solid results. But more adjusting his focus to treat it like Spring Training instead of feeling frustrated or beaten down.
The real mental shift for Diamond occurred this past winter, when he became enthralled by gold medal-winning figure skater Alysa Liu.
Through one of his favorite follows on Instagram, Drake Davis or @sipdrake, Diamond watched more of Liu’s interviews, how she talked about no longer performing for others and dove into the art.
Diamond described his own season as “a beautiful painting” and said he was meditating on how to incorporate Liu's thinking into his own work.
Realizing he had the ability and knowledge but couldn't put it together, Diamond devised his own slogan.
“I kinda said, ‘I’m not a young, hotshot prospect any more,” Diamond said. “I’m just an old fart out here doing it for the love of the game. I think that really loosened me up.”
Hey, whatever works, right?
Now, the Pirates face a decision on Diamond, who’s eligible for the Rule 5 draft, assuming it happens. Diamond put himself in great position, though like a lot of his mentality shift, he refuses to worry too much about it.
"It's something I can't control, so I really don't care at all," Diamond said. "However it works out, it's going to work in my favor. I know God is on my side. So no anxiety, nothing like that.”
Other honorees
The second day of Pirates Minor League awards also featured recognition of a big bopper, plus their top baserunner and defender.
More on Murf Gray shortly. He was an obvious choice for Willie Stargell Slugger of the Year and seemingly has a strong shot at winning Honus Wagner Player of the Year on Thursday.
Yordany De Los Santos was named the Omar Moreno Baserunner of the Year, and Jesus Castillo was named the Bill Mazeroski Defender of the Year, honors for two deserving players who had strong 2026 seasons.
Castillo, 23, made just nine errors in 288 total chances, which works out to a .969 fielding percentage. He also played seven different positions — everywhere but pitcher and catcher — in 100 games up and down Pittsburgh's Minor League system.
With 506 career chances at second base, Castillo has definitely shined there with a .976 fielding percentage. His performance at first base (428 for 431, .993) has also been really good. The question for Castillo involves his offense.
Castillo hit .264 with a .678 OPS across five leagues in 2026, spending the most time at Double-A and Triple-A. The time with Indy was short, but Castillo felt like it was a big positive for him, where he was able to learn from older players and also complete some adjustments he made at the plate this season, using all fields and trying to do damage instead of being so pull-happy.
“I think that’s why I was able to win this award, because of what I learned from veteran players with more experience,” Castillo said, with Corrales translating.
There’s definitely plenty to like about Castillo’s defensive profile. He said as a young player he really liked watching fellow Venezuelan Freddy Galvis, which makes sense given how much Galvis moved around. But Castillo night have even more versatility and knows that’s his best path forward helping his team win.
“I take a lot of pride in my defense,” Castillo said. “I know there are a lot of players with a lot of good talent defensively in this organization, so I’m proud to have something I’ve worked at my entire career be recognized by the team.
De Los Santos, who’s ranked No. 14 by MLB Pipeline, led the Pirates’ Minor League system in stolen bases with 45. The 21-year-old also hit .260 with 19 home runs, 68 RBI, a .329 on-base percentage, a .483 slugging percentage, .812 OPS and 79 runs scored in 92 games split between High-A and Low-A Bradenton.
Spending much of the season with the Grasshoppers, De Los Santos ranked second in the South Atlantic League in steals (45), tied for second in doubles (26), sixth in runs scored (77), tied for seventh in extra-base hits (44) and ninth in slugging percentage (.481).
Gray a no-doubter
Gray’s 32 home runs led all Pirates Minor Leaguers and were tied with Chad Hermansen (1999), Jon Benick (2004) and Andrew Lambo (2013) for the fourth-most by any Pirates Minor Leaguer since 1999.
Those above Gray on that list: Brad Eldred (38 in 2004), Mason Martin (35 in 2019) and Craig Wilson (33 in 2000).
Gray, 22, hit a combined .305 with 27 doubles, 97 RBI, 66 walks, .969 OPS and 100 runs scored in 126 games split between Low-A Bradenton, High-A Greensboro and Double-A Altoona.
Gray made his debut April 3 at Dunedin and never looked back. He led the Florida State League in hits (51), RBI (34), slugging (.606), OPS (1.042) and total bases (86) while ranking second in batting (.359) and runs scored (29).
Selected out of Fresno State (CA) University in the Competitive Balance-B round in 2025, reached High-A on May 19 and led the South Atlantic League in total bases (105) and ranked tied for first in home runs (15) during his time with the Grasshoppers.
Gray (MLB Pipeline No. 4) made his Double-A debut on July 17 and ranked third in the Eastern League in on-base percentage (.395), tied for fourth in runs (34), seventh in OPS (.879) and tied for eighth in walks (29) from July 17-Sept. 13.
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.