O’s claim 3B Rio Ruiz

[wildcard]

38 minutes ago, interloper said:

Ruiz is slugging .500 and OPSing .799 in the 2nd half. He's really improved after his brief demotion.

I was thinking, this makes me feel bad for guys like Stewart who probably feel like "it sure would be nice if I was given an entire year to struggle and then improve, instead of scrambling to impress in the final month of the season". Then again, Stewart is likely to get more chances overall than Ruiz. 

They both have options next season so they probably both stay on the 40 man roster this off season.   There is not that much competition at 3B compared to the number of corner outflieders and DHs that O's have in the majors and upper minor leagues.

Ruiz adjusted swing appears to add power but does not help his average.   He is also limited because he does not hit lefties.   He is a good defensive player though.

[Redskins Rick]

15 minutes ago, wildcard said:

They both have options next season so they probably both stay on the 40 man roster this off season.   There is not that much competition at 3B compared to the number of corner outflieders and DHs that O's have in the majors and upper minor leagues.

Ruiz adjusted swing appears to add power but does not help his average.   He is also limited because he does not hit lefties.   He is a good defensive player though.

I suspect the majority of pitchers are right handed.

 

[interloper]

26 minutes ago, wildcard said:

They both have options next season so they probably both stay on the 40 man roster this off season.   There is not that much competition at 3B compared to the number of corner outflieders and DHs that O's have in the majors and upper minor leagues.

Ruiz adjusted swing appears to add power but does not help his average.   He is also limited because he does not hit lefties.   He is a good defensive player though.

Yeah. I like Rio and I see no reason to get cute with 3B next year. Let him and Hanser continue to handle it.

[oriole]

7 minutes ago, interloper said:

Yeah. I like Rio and I see no reason to get cute with 3B next year. Let him and Hanser continue to handle it.

I agree...Ruiz is a good enough stopgap until either he proves himself or someone better comes along. 

[Philip]

What is it Garth Brooks sings?

”mister right, or mister right now.”

until someone better comes along.

I like defense so I like Ruiz. Not so keen on a lot of the other guys.

[ScGO's]

3 hours ago, wildcard said:

They both have options next season so they probably both stay on the 40 man roster this off season.   There is not that much competition at 3B compared to the number of corner outflieders and DHs that O's have in the majors and upper minor leagues.

Ruiz adjusted swing appears to add power but does not help his average.   He is also limited because he does not hit lefties.   He is a good defensive player though.

He only has 66 PA against LHP this year, but he has a .262 average compared to a .227 avg against RHP.  OPS is higher against RHP though .680 compared to .653.  Now that he has opened up his stance a little bit, I'd let him swing it against lefties and see if his new approach carries over.   Ruiz should be good to start at 3B next year.  I'm hoping Alberto takes 2B if Villar is traded.  Stevie to super utility to back them up.  No Nunez at 3B though please.

[OFFNY]

o

 

 

(vs. TIGERS, 9/15)

 

 

NUMBER 11

 

RIO NOBLE RUIZ

RIO NOBLE RUIZ

RIO NOBLE RUIZ

RIO NOBLE RUIZ

RIO NOBLE RUIZ

RIO NOBLE RUIZ

RIO NOBLE RUIZ

 

o

[sportsfan8703]

Ruiz’s last 30 games,

6 HR .237/.326/.539   By my math that’s an .865 OPS. He’s at least average at 3rd base with flashes of slightly above. He’s only 25 and this was his first year of getting consistent ABs in the MLB. Gotta say he’s pencilled in for 3B next year as of now. He could use a platoon buddy though. Alberto can play 3rd vs LHP, but that opens up 2B. Idk if Martin or Wilkerson are the answer vs LHP. 

[mdbdotcom]

2 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Ruiz’s last 30 games,

6 HR .237/.326/.539   By my math that’s an .865 OPS. He’s at least average at 3rd base with flashes of slightly above. He’s only 25 and this was his first year of getting consistent ABs in the MLB. Gotta say he’s pencilled in for 3B next year as of now. He could use a platoon buddy though. Alberto can play 3rd vs LHP, but that opens up 2B. Idk if Martin or Wilkerson are the answer vs LHP. 

We should have plenty of waiver claims for the infield to evaluate in ST.

[DirtyBird]

3 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Ruiz’s last 30 games,

6 HR .237/.326/.539   By my math that’s an .865 OPS. He’s at least average at 3rd base with flashes of slightly above. He’s only 25 and this was his first year of getting consistent ABs in the MLB. Gotta say he’s pencilled in for 3B next year as of now. He could use a platoon buddy though. Alberto can play 3rd vs LHP, but that opens up 2B. Idk if Martin or Wilkerson are the answer vs LHP. 

Any 30 game stretch in which you hit over half your season HR's is going to inflate your OPS

[Tony-OH]

2 hours ago, DirtyBird said:

Any 30 game stretch in which you hit over half your season HR's is going to inflate your OPS

He has certainly hit for more power since coming back from AAA. Not sure if he tweaked something of if he's just running into more pitches, but the power increase has been the biggest difference in hitting of late.

If the power is for real, and I'm not sure that it is until I hear he's changed some kind of approach, then he has a chance to stick around for awhile at 3B.

He's still a below average 3B overall and will need a consistent jump in production to be considered a nugget towards a winning team in the future.

[DrungoHazewood]

All "last 30 games" does is help to define the limits of someone's peaks and valleys.  

Ruiz has a .657 in the majors, and a .744 in AAA.  He's 25. Odds are that he's a mid-.600s OPS hitter, with the potential to grow a little bit over the next few years.

[NCRaven]

I don't think any of Ruiz, Nunez or Alberto are long-term solutions for a winning O's team.  They all have flaws for starters and only Alberto really fits the bill as a utility guy.  But, all of them are good enough for 2020 as long as we see some progress at other positions.  I can put up with them on the next losing Oriole team if I'm seeing progress in the outfield with guys like Hays, Santander, and eventually, Diaz establishing themselves.  Progress in the infield with Mountcastle settling in at 1B (assuming Mancini is traded) and possibly Rylan Bannon getting a shot later in the season at 2B.  And, finally, continued progress in the minors for our pitchers and other position prospects like Rutschman, Hall and McKenna.

[LA2]

On 9/12/2019 at 12:38 AM, Redskins Rick said:

I suspect the majority of pitchers are right handed.

 

When did that happen?

[7Mo]

1 hour ago, LA2 said:

When did that happen?

I think the A's discovered during the Moneyball  time frame.