Some hitters impress you with the way they turn on pitches and hit long, majestic home runs.

That’s not Yandy Diaz.

Some players thrive by capitalizing on speed, and others with slick gloves.

That’s not Yandy Diaz, either.

Some hitters swagger and preen as if they are begging for attention.

That’s certainly not Yandy Diaz.

You want to know who Yandy Diaz is?

One of the best pure hitters of his generation.

That’s not an exaggeration. Since arriving in Tampa Bay in 2019, Diaz has an .824 OPS. That’s higher than Manny Machado and his $350 million contract. He has a .374 on-base percentage. That’s higher than Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and his $500 million deal. His average exit velocity is 92 mph. That’s higher than Bryce Harper and his $330 million contract.

The point is not that Diaz deserves more money — although he is one of the better bargains in the game with a $12 million salary in 2026 and an option in 2027 for somewhere between $10 million-$13 million — but that there should be a little more awe surrounding his name.

He’s never had flashy home run totals, and his exposure is limited by having played in two markets outside of MLB’s epicenter. The language barrier (he’s a native of Cuba) has also been a likely factor in his relative anonymity, and so has his low-key, almost shy, personality.

But the reality is Diaz, 34, is a hitter of uncommon consistency. In each of the past four seasons, his slugging percentage has been above .400 and his strikeout total has been below 100. You want to know how many hitters can match that combo of total bases while routinely putting the ball in play? Two. Diaz and Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez.

“That’s probably the best (way) to describe Yandy: consistency at the plate,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “I know we’ve had stretches early on in seasons where he hasn’t gotten going, but then you look up in the middle of the season or the end of the season and his numbers seem to get to a really productive, impressive spot.”

His bat speed isn’t nearly as impressive as teammate Junior Caminero — and, in fact, Diaz’s bat has gradually slowed in his 30s — but the combination of strength, bat-to-ball skills and adherence to his approach makes him one of the game’s more difficult outs.

Unlike a lot of hitters with 20-homer power, Diaz is not trying to turn on every pitch and drive it over the wall. The bulk of his home runs go to rightfield and are typically not tape-measure jobs. Diaz is comfortable hitting the opposite way and has a flatter swing path that has produced more line drives than fly balls in each of the last five years.

Last season, he was in the 94th percentile of exit velocity and hard-hit percentage, while also striking out less than 88% of the game’s hitters. That combo of hitting the ball hard without a lot of swing-and-miss is a unique skill.

“That’s rare. Very rare,” said Rays hitting coach Chad Mottola. “(A coach) always deals with the person in front of you, the DNA that they have built-in. He’s a little more fun, because he has more tools available. More clubs available, as we like to say. More lanes available to cover pitches. So you can get creative with those guys.”

We’ve grown so accustomed to Diaz’s offensive output that we sometimes forget how special he’s been. Going into the weekend series against the Giants, Diaz was in the top 10 in the American League in batting average (.330), on-base percentage (.421), hits (38) and RBIs (20).

None of this happens by accident. Earlier this season, when pitchers were pounding him inside, Diaz started getting away from his normal swing path. So he did pregame drills with assistant hitting coach Ozzie Timmons tossing him balls from the side so Diaz could work on keeping his swing short and the barrel back.

Diaz doesn’t overthink his plan — he doesn’t do extensive scouting work on opposing pitchers — but he intuitively understands what works for him.

Even if we don’t always appreciate the idea that — along with Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist and Carl Crawford — he is one of the best hitters this franchise has ever had.

“He’s not the typical launch-angle, how-far-can-he-hit-it guy. He doesn’t care about that,” said Timmons. “He just wants to make good contact all the time, and he’s so strong he’s going to hit the ball as hard as anybody. He just doesn’t do it in a sexy way. He’s always been simple. I always tell people, he is one of the best hitters I’ve ever worked with. They say, ‘Yandy Diaz?’ And I say, ‘Yeah, because he hits the ball as hard as anybody.’

“It doesn’t look like he’s swinging hard, but he makes hard contact. His bat is under control all the time. It’s not about swinging hard, it’s about making hard contact. And he does that as well as anybody.”