I went to Nanuet today in hopes of seeing Dan Diaz regain his form from last year. Nanuet’s sterling two-way player has been good but not great this season. In a follow-up to an amazing 2008 in which he burst on the scene to become one of the top three players in Rockland (along with Suffern’s Robbie Aviles and Jimmy Brennan), I expected more than he’s shown in 2009. The hope was that a rivalry game against neighbor Pearl River would jumpstart him.

Sure enough, he posted one of the best pitching performances by anybody this season. In a 6-1 win he struck out 14 batters while giving up two hits and one walk. Only Rye Neck’s Ryan Pennell, Lakeland’s Jon Demarte, and Dobbs’s Zach Avalos have struck out more in a game. Yet it was not Diaz’s career high. He fanned a school-record 17 against Albertus last year.

Yesterday he displayed a devastating mix of power and control. His fastball is very fast and he has a sharp curve. You have to guess against him. If you’re wrong, you’re cooked. If you think curve and it’s a fastball, you won’t get lucky with him missing the zone. He hits his spots. Six Pirates got caught looking at strike three.

“If youre guessing curveball or guessing the wrong thing against him he’s going to make you pay,” Pirates coach Bruce Miller said. “It freezes you.”

In two other starts this season he’d struck out a ton of guys but given up runs as well. He had a blood blister his first start that was impeding his grip. It was nice to see the senior, who plays shortstop on off days, put it all together.

He had Pearl River (4-5) shut out until Mike Davis’s seventh-inning homer.

Nanuet (6-1) got a couple of doubles from leadoff man Neil Guerriero and a two-run single from Tom Hanney that broke the game open in the fifth. Hanney’s hit probably would have been an out if the infield had been playing at normal depth, but with shortstop Davis on the infield grass it shot just past his glove.

After the game I asked Diaz about his college plans. Coach Phil Carbone told me a few weeks ago that he hadn’t gotten DI offers because he’s only about 5-foot-8. Diaz said there’d been no progress. He’s still sorting through some DII and III offers but no one from DI has come calling.

Is it just me or is that hard to believe? What else could you want from him in terms of results? Last year he was 7-1 with 84 Ks in 47 innings and a 2.10 ERA. And he batted .446 with 15 extra-base hits. This year he’s got 40 Ks in 19.1 innings.

Yes, he’s small for a pitcher. Pitchers under six feet aren’t very projectable. I’m not saying he’s going to be a star. But he’s not worth a look as a reliever in college? Pedro Martinez, Roy Oswalt, and Tom Gordon are under six feet. They did OK for themselves.

I’m not a scout and I won’t tell them how to do their jobs. But I would like some perspective on this. If anybody reading this has scouting experience, tell me what your take on small pitchers is. Do they need to be untouchable in high school to be considered for the next level?

I found a six-part article in The Hardball Times that looks at how players of different sizes fare in the big leagues. You can view the part on pitching here and the page where David Gassko draws his conclusions here.

And can anybody think of other short pitchers that had good major league careers besides the three I mentioned?