Esteury Ruiz

Fantasy managers who took the chance on the unproven Ruiz knew exactly what they were getting themselves into, and in the end, got exactly that. Ruiz set the AL record for steals by a rookie with 67 steals, but also set the record for fewest runs scored by anyone with at least 60 steals. Ruiz's 47 runs scored with 60+ steals was the lowest total since Dave Collins scored 59 times with 60 steals for the 1984 Jays. Ruiz missed a chunk of time recovering from a shoulder injury after an awkward dive back into first and hit .243 upon his return but also hit 4 of his 5 homers on the season. Ruiz could steal 80 bases over the course of a full and healthy season, but he needs to run at that type of volume to justify the cost given the drag his other categories are on your overall numbers. Ruiz needs to be paired with the right roster construction in order to truly be enjoyed.

Part of the package the Brewers received from San Diego in the Josh Hader trade at the deadline and then flipped again to Oakland this offseason, Ruiz had an eye-popping statistical season between Double-A and Triple-A. He hit .332/.447/.526 with 16 home runs and 85 steals on 99 attempts in 114 games while hitting .171 with one steal on three attempts in 36 MLB plate appearances. It was a post-hype breakout for the 23-year-old outfielder, who was a top-100 fantasy prospect back in 2018 before an unimpressive 2019 and 2021 in the middle levels of the minors. His elite speed could make him a roto standout, even if he is less valuable in real life. He doesn't have debilitating swing-and-miss issues, but he makes too much weak contact against premium pitching. While Ruiz has three double-digit homer campaigns under his belt in the minors, he shouldn't be expected to showcase double-digit homer power as a rookie in the big leagues. A former second baseman, Ruiz's outfield defense is still a work in progress. Now that he's with the rebuilding A's, Ruiz should have a chance to start Opening Day in Oakland.

Ruiz's Midwest League stats can serve as a crash course in what matters, and what doesn't matter when projecting how a player's Low-A performance will translate. His league-leading 49 steals look nice, but he's not even a 60-grade runner, so banking on more than 20 steals in the majors would be a mistake. Ruiz's .253 average is quite instructive, as he strikes out a lot (28.6 K%) and struggles to use the whole field (26.3 Oppo%), but makes hard contact and gets the ball in the air enough (37.2 GB%) to continue to hit around .250 as he climbs the ladder. His 12 home runs actually undersell his power potential. He has the bat speed and torque to develop into a 25-homer threat in the big leagues. This all adds up to a power/speed second baseman who, barring significant skills growth, won't be a positive contributor in batting average, but will hit enough to get playing time. The Padres will have a middle-infield logjam soon, so a trade would be welcome.

Ruiz was the talk of AZL backfields last season. He was the Franklin Barreto/Willy Adames piece in a midseason trade between the Royals and Padres -- the true headliner, even though he was a low-level prospect without mainstream name value. The 18-year-old second baseman finished first in the league in batting average (.350), second in SLG (.602) and third in steals (26). In short, Ruiz was the best hitter in the AZL and took home MVP honors. He led the way in extra-base hits (34), with many of his 10 triples falling just short of the fence. Ruiz combined some of the league's best bat speed from the right side with above-average speed on the bases, hinting at a future power/speed fantasy profile. He will eventually offer 25-plus homer pop if he can add strength to his slight 6-foot frame. While not cut from the same cloth in the field (some evaluators think Ruiz's defense is below average), his minor-league numbers and eventual fantasy production could mirror Javier Baez every step of the way.