LOS ANGELES DODGERS TOP 10 PROSPECTS
1. KEIBERT RUIZ, C
AGE: 22. B-T: B-R. HT: 6-0. WT: 225. SIGNED: Venezuela 2014. SIGNED BY: Francisco Cartaya/Pedro Avila.
TRACK RECORD: Ruiz trained at the academy run by former all-star shortstop Carlos Guillen in Venezuela as an amateur and signed with the Dodgers for $140,000 when he turned 16. He was known for his defense when he signed, but his offense quickly became his calling card. Ruiz hit .300 or better at each of his first four stops and zoomed up the minors to play a full season at Double-A at age 19 in 2018, when he ranked as the Texas League’s No. 3 prospect. He hit his first speed bump in 2019 when an organizational catching logjam forced him back to Double-A, and he struggled to stay motivated. He looked re-energized after a promotion to Triple-A, but suffered a season-ending injury when a foul tip fractured his right pinkie finger. Ruiz rode out the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 at the Dodgers’ complex in Arizona, where he improved his physique and worked extensively with Dodgers hitting coach Brant Brown. Ruiz contracted Covid-19 and arrived late to summer camp, but he recovered to make his major league debut on Aug. 16 and homered in his first at-bat.
The switch-hitting Ruiz has a preternatural ability to put the bat on the ball. He has elite hand-eye coordination, can manipulate the barrel to cover all parts of the strike zone and rarely swings and misses. Those traits have long given Ruiz the potential to be a plus hitter, but his quality of contact was often lacking.
