Esteury Ruiz Hitting Ninth Again Wednesday
1 year agoOakland A's outfielder Esteury Ruiz is once again hitting out of the nine-hole Wednesday against the Seattle Mariners and right-hander Bryce Miller. It's not terribly surprising to see the 24-year-old hitting ninth but it does mark his second straight start out of the bottom of the order while Ryan Noda continues to see starts out of the leadoff spot. While he boasts elite speed with 51 stolen bases and 98th percentile sprint speed, Ruiz gets on base at a below-average .300 clip, thanks in large part to a minuscule 3.7% BB% that is the second-lowest mark among 137 qualified hitters. The perhaps near-permanent move to the bottom of the order doesn't hurt Ruiz's fantasy value much as he should continue to rack up a hefty amount of steals as a one-dimensional fantasy asset.
Source: MLB.com
Source: MLB.com