6:00pm: The Padres have announced the selection of Ruiz. To create space on the active roster, Rooker was optioned. To make room on the 40-man roster, Robert Suarez was transferred to the 60-day IL. Suarez will now be ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which was June 7. That means he can rejoin the club August 6.
5:25pm: Padres manager Bob Melvin has announced to reporters, including AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, that outfielder Esteury Ruiz is in tonight’s lineup. Ruiz wasn’t on the club’s full 40-man prior to today, meaning a corresponding move of some kind will be required.
Ruiz, 23, began his career in the Royals organization but came to the Padres in the 2017 trade that sent Trevor Cahill and a couple of other pitchers to Kansas City. Since then, he’s gotten the attention of prospect evaluators, appearing on Baseball America’s list of top Padre farmhands in 2018 and 2019. He slid off that list in subsequent years, but he’s forced his way back on with an outstanding showing here in 2022, coming in at #13 on the most recent update. The most recent list at FanGraphs placed him at #25.
Both outlets note that Ruiz has long tantalized with his power-speed combo, but that mounting strikeouts dampened the enthusiasm as he rose through the minor league ranks. In 2018, he struck out 28.6% of the time in A-ball, which he followed up with a 26.6% rate in High-A in 2019.
However, he’s overhauled his approach at the plate in recent years with very encouraging results. Last year, at Double-A, he got his strikeouts down to a much more tenable 20.7%. This year, between Double-A and Triple-A, he’s made further strides, getting his rate down to 17.4%. That’s helped him produce an incredible .333/.467/.560 line on the year for a 167 wRC+. He’s also already racked up 60 stolen bases on the year in just 77 games.
Though he was an infielder in his earlier years, the Padres have been gradually transitioning him to more outfield work, with his last infield appearance coming back in 2019. The Friars have been looking for answers on the grass all season long, with injuries and underperformance hurting their outfield corps. Wil Myers, Jurickson Profar and Matt Beaty are all currently on the injured list. Nomar Mazara has fared well in one spot, but Trent Grisham has slumped this year to a wRC+ of 81. The club has also leaned on depth options like Jose Azocar and Brent Rooker without anyone taking a strong hold on a job. Now they will turn to Ruiz and see if he can translate any of his eye-popping minor league numbers up to the big leagues.
Those are some video game numbers he’s sporting in the minors
And 60 stolen bases in 77 games? Even for the minor leagues, that’s pretty impressive.
Also notice that he’s been hit by pitches 23 times in 77 games. Wow, this guy knows how to get on base.
Grish was struggling now let’s see what Ruiz can do .Making his major league debut in Denver
I wonder what the corresponding move is going to be here. My guess would be someone to the 60 day, like maybe Suarez?
Padres already have like 5 guys on the 60 day IL who are theoretically coming back over the next couple months. Going to be a lot of DFAs at some point…
I’m guessing Stammen.
edit: nvm it looks like Suarez 60 day retro June 6th and Rooker optioned to El Paso
Makes sense. Would have rather seen Azocar go down just to see what Rooker would do with some more ABs, but Profar is coming back soon so it’s not like Rooker was going to get an extended look anyway.
No better way to try and help kickstart a slumping offense then to make your debut in Denver. Time to get to work, E.R. and welcome to the show!
FINALLY. LFG Pads. See what he can do before making deadline moves, exactly what the fans have been dying to see.
40 and 26 rosters show Rooker to AAA and Suarez 60 IL… so there you have it
This kid has thicker mid body (hips /thighs) has very similar build although shorter than Rickey Henderson… .his OBP at one point was .537.. video game central… kid can play.. and play well.. Good Luck in the MLB and may you rake from your 1st AB and never look back.. 1-0 6 to go and Lets Go Padres!
Any comparison to Rickey gets my attention!
I, too, wish they gave Rooker a longer look. We know what we have in Azocar and he could go down to AAA and continue to work on his pitch selection and come back if Ruiz isn’t the answer. Now we basically are waiting on Myers or a trade even if Ruiz does well.
When I saw this guy’s first name, I pictured a salt marsh with a heron wading past the cordgrass. It was very refreshing.
Estuaries are def an underrated ecological feature
This guy could be a difference maker in rotisserie leagues solely due to stolen bases, but the Padres need a healthy and mediocre Wil Myers just as much.
The Padres would be ecstatic if Ruiz can just supply league average offense and defense. He has the ability to provide much more than that but the Padres will be happy with any production out of CF.
We don’t really need Azocar he has speed and good arm .No power , Started ok but has fallen off with bat .
Azocar is basically a replacement level, defensive replacement type 5th OF that they’re giving everyday reps right now.
He’s fine as a depth piece, but his bat in the lineup on a regular basis is so tough to watch.
Padres have a plethora of mediocre outfielders. I love Grishams glove but no offense. Azocar is plain vanilla. Myers is overpaid and seems to be fine with just being below average. Profar is good and improving. Mazara gets on base and doesn’t make errors. I hope Ruiz is a star.
Bout time. Let’s hope he can help turn up the downward spiral. The SPs need to know they don’t need to throw a complete game shutout in order to win
Congrats on your first multi-hit game in the Show Esty!
Myers 2 hits in LE Storm rehab..missed a grand slam by 3 feet… Cool thing though was Trevor Hoffman sat right behind me and the Family..my kid got a nice souvenir picture with him tonight