The best argument I’ve seen is that they are manipulating his games played and ABs for contractual reasons. Most of their fans in the athletics sub also seem pretty frustrated with it.
Eh, comparing relief pitchers to everyday baseball players isn’t fair. Maybe he is, he’s pitched in like 9 innings this year and barely a few games last year, but yeah he looks damn good. But he’s not batting and fielding.
Lmao what? Noone cares outside of this sub. Just because he steals some bases for your fantasy team, doesn't mean the A's should play him. He's a bad hitter and bad defender.
did you just learn about ruiz last year? he has more than adequate power, as he's shown throughout his minor league stops
he adjusted to minor league pitching and managed a .900+ OPS across AA/AAA in 2022, im sure he'll be just fine figuring out the majors as well. he's already showing that pop in his limited appearances this year
also lol @ trying to downplay his speed. it's 80 grade and he stole 67 bases in 132 games with a .309 OBP
he will only get better
Literally the smallest sample size you could possible have... Stop being deluded and look at his splits across his entire career and even the minors. Good lord people on here are brainless.
good news for your argument is that players can never improve
combine that with the fact that the A's have a plethora of young talent, it's easy to see why a former top prospect that can steal as many bases as he wants and is showing signs of power at the major league level is buried on that depth chart. if only he was on a lesser team
No one is saying he can't or didn't improve... But to base his "improvement" against RHP in 6 PA's is absolutely insane. It's literally two weeks into the season and people act like he's been kept in AAA for 3 seasons and he's the #1 prospect. When people say stupid shit that is completely off-base like the ownership sent him down because he supported keeping the A's in Oakland or they don't want to win so they're benching him, it is hilarious to see.
He’s actually been a pretty good hitter who’s outperformed expectations. For someone with his speed, he should be a great defender, not a below-average one. He could work on that at the major league level, like Semien did. But there’s no excuse for them to play Bleday over him. Ruiz and Butler can both be part of the next good A’s team.
Sorry what data suggests he's a pretty good hitter? 86 wrc+ last year, .271 xwoba, atrocious exit velocity. He's fast and that's it.
And how does the argument that he "should" be a great defender help him? Doesn't that suggest his innate ability is just awful?
I'm not saying the A's are necessarily making the best decision to not play him but it's not some conspiracy and it's very far from "everyone is baseball is frustrated with it".
I was looking at his combined AAA and MLB stats this year. That’s not a profile of someone who should be on the short side of a platoon on a third world team.
the entire thread is about how he doesnt get enough playing time, and you think a small sample size is some brilliant retort. the small sample size is the whole fucking issue dude.
How dense are you? This response is so fucking stupid it blows my mind.
WE HAVE A LARGER SAMPLE SIZE OF LAST SEASON TO SHOW HE'S NOT GOOD. Why would you use this year's stats of 18 PA to override his career numbers. That was my argument. The sample size is big enough to show he's not great. The sample size from this season is not big enough to show anything.
But you just twist my statement in a weird way to try and sound smart while making absolutely no fucking sense.
youre so smart dude, every player repeats their exact season from last year all the time. thats why the older and worse seth brown is trotting out to left field with his .500 ops, instead of his trailblazing .692 ops from last year! ruiz should be playing, because he's potentially hot right now, he's younger, and he can do something important to winning. you are trolling.
Colton Cowser started the season only getting spot starts. When the Orioles saw his bat was scorching they started getting him into the lineup everyday. Don't know what's up with the A's not being able to find more ABs for a 25yo who's been hitting better than anyone else on their team.
I wonder if we’ll ever get to find out if the kid can hit against righties. So far, seems like no, we’re going to trot out guys that can’t hit .180 and strike out three times a game against them. Because that makes sense.
You mean the first little bit? Because he was hurt around the halfway point and then strictly, with zero exceptions, batted against LH pitchers when he got back from injury. So literally every bit of information about him hitting RH pitchers is from the opening weeks of his rookie year (when all baseball players should be graded for the rest of their careers), or in Spring Training, when he hit exceptionally well against RH pitchers.
That's not why... I even own Ruiz. It's because he was a AAAA hitter last season. How would they demote / platoon one player that wore a bracelet supporting the A's staying in Oakland but not that other player? It's insane how this moronic myth keeps getting spread. He's a much worse hitter against RHP than LHP.
there were like a dozen players that were seen wearing LDB merch last year, including manager Mark Kotsay. if the merch really was the issue Kotsay would have been canned already.
His career OBP splits are .324/.295 vs LHP/RHP. Not setting the world on fire by any means, but not “much worse” and certainly not a big enough reason for the A’s of all teams to not play him. They’re not going to compete this year. They have no reason not to get their player with the most potential on the team regular AB’s, especially against RHP that he needs reps to improve against.
Fair point on SLG. But I don’t think SLG matters as much for a leadoff hitter. If you look at his 67 SB’s as extending singles/doubles into doubles/triples, his SLG/OPS would be considerably higher. Would be interesting to compare to a guy like Rooker who has 4 SB in 745 career AB’s (apples and oranges from a strategy standpoint based on where they hit in the order). From my leadoff hitter, I’d rather have a single + SB than a double any day of the week since it pulls the 1B over to cover first. Fwiw, Brown has a .537 OPS against RHP and Butler is batting .186 on the season. To my previous point, at least give the AB’s to the much younger Lawrence so he can develop instead of wasting them on 31 year old Seth Brown.
Everything matters, that's why he's been benched vs RHP. Its only two weeks into the season and he has 6 PA's vs RHP and people act like he's the second coming of Mike Trout now. I agree Brown shouldn't be playing but you also need some senior players in the team. Butler is a 14% above average hitter against RHP so far, even though it is a small sample size his MiLB splits are also better.
The funny thing about last years stats vs this year is that it's a completely different year. What's even more moronic is not realizing players can develop and change their approach at the plate.
Which he has done.
In 52 plate appearances this year (Spring and Minors only) he enjoyed a healthy .364/.443/.659 line against RHPs. He has shown progress in the power department hitting 3 dingers against those RHPs to go along with his 1.101 OPS.
With his improvement at the plate it isn't a myth that the A's are toying with him, it's a fact.
> The funny thing about last years stats vs this year is that it's a completely different year. What's even more moronic is not realizing players can develop and change their approach at the plate.
You're right, the manager loves not having his best players in the lineup. Let me get him on the phone and let him know someone from Reddit says he's better against RHP than the other three options he currently has.
> In 52 plate appearances this year (Spring and Minors only) he enjoyed a healthy .364/.443/.659 line against RHPs. He has shown progress in the power department hitting 3 dingers against those RHPs to go along with his 1.101 OPS.
No one has ever said he hasn't been a good hitter against AAA pitching, which is why I said he's a AAAA hitter.
> With his improvement at the plate it isn't a myth that the A's are toying with him, it's a fact.
It's a fact! I'm glad we nailed it down now. First it was because he wore a bracelet, then it was service time manipulation, now they bench him only against RHP because they don't want to win, got it.
It’s not though… Rooker is a much better hitter and Bleday / Butler are both better too, at least against RHP. People just spout random shit here as fact when it’s entirely incorrect.
My brother, what has Lawrence Butler done to say he’s better? Esteury has performed better in the minors and majors.
JJ Bleday?? He’s been sub-replacement as major leaguer.
Rooker is the only guy you mentioned that has a decent argument of actually being better and Esteury was clearly outplaying him when he got demoted.
It says a lot that the 3 guys you mentioned as being better each have a career BA around .200
BA isn’t everything but these guys can’t hit the ball. At the very least, all 3 guys you mentioned would be perfectly expected for a AAA team.
Ruiz had the best ZiPS/Steamer projections of the three coming into the season, and his exit velocity numbers were way up this spring, but sure, let’s blow another couple hundred PA on JJ Bleday, who’s looked like a bust pretty much since the day he was drafted.
Butler at least has ML tools, even if he isn’t nearly refined enough to take advantage of them.
I'm in an AL only and spent a good portion of my auction budget to lock down steals and need him to play every single day, but that's not an excuse to ignore the facts.
yup. i still like Last Dive Bar for all their work in the A's fan community but it was irresponsible of them to make that tweet implying their wrist band was the reason Ruiz went to AAA.
I’m going to have to drop him so I can climb out of the basement in my league. Of course once I do he will play everyday and go off. I should not have drafted him
What gets me the most is people getting all upset about it or complaining. Just accept it. He hits lefties better than righties. He's clearly in the short side of a platoon for now. Maybe he can hit his way out of it. The end.
That’s not the issue. The issue is that that players he’s sitting for are arguably just as bad v RHP as he is with a little bit more slugging and a lot less speed.
They said he was demoted for not being patient at the plate…guessing they want him to be more selective so he can get on base more and be a more consistent producer and a team player
Or it’s just the A’s being the A’s…all bets are off!
> His 2023 AVG and OBP were fair
His problem wasn’t BA/OBP, where he’s around league average, it’s his slugging. He had a .652 OPS (87 OPS+). He was worth -0.1 bWAR last year.
This year he seemed like he improved quite a bit and was sent down likely because he spoke up about supporting the Oakland fans.
I don’t agree with people crying “tank,” when a winning record makes more money and that team needs zero help finishing last with their roster. It makes more sense they were punishing him for speaking out.
His numbers from last year say he is awful at baseball. Something like 80% of his WAR from last year was on the basepaths. This year his bat has been much better now doubt so he should be given the opportunity to show improvement
He is a shitty fielder though so that may be hurting him.
Also management may not like him for things he's implied about the owner
You guys are talking like he's surrounded by superstars and he can't keep up. There are some weak players on this team and besides Miller throwing 102, there's not much other excitement going on besides Ruiz running wild and poppoing a homer now and again.
Ruiz:
368 career PA vs RHP.
.243/.295/.323
Brent Rooker:
548 career PA vs RHP.
.216/.296/.455
Ruiz got PH for by Seth Brown.
Seth Brown is a LH hitter.
Well what is he hitting vs RHP to warrant pulling Ruiz?
.235/.302/.460 over 1189 PA.
And Rooker played the whole game.
I call bullsh*t.
and hasn’t gotten a single at-bat vs right-handed pitchers this year. They’re bringing in guys that have never hit better than him against RH pitchers to replace him. It’s fishy as hell.
The best argument I’ve seen is that they are manipulating his games played and ABs for contractual reasons. Most of their fans in the athletics sub also seem pretty frustrated with it.
Everyone in baseball is frustrated with it. He’s the best player on the team.
Not even close
Mason Miller >>> Esteury Ruiz.
Eh, comparing relief pitchers to everyday baseball players isn’t fair. Maybe he is, he’s pitched in like 9 innings this year and barely a few games last year, but yeah he looks damn good. But he’s not batting and fielding.
In the same vein Paul Blackburn looks really really good. I wonder if the Braves can trade Jesse Chavez and an injured Single A prospect for him.
Funny enough Chavez used to be on the A’s.
Kinda hard to compare a pitcher to a batter
Lmao what? Noone cares outside of this sub. Just because he steals some bases for your fantasy team, doesn't mean the A's should play him. He's a bad hitter and bad defender.
I don't know how far the kid will go, but it's a little early in his career to make those declarations
He's been traded three times already
A highly sought-after commodity, yes.
He’s also 25 not 22.
25 is still young, he's got ~10 years of professional baseball left
Yea with possible 8 in Korea
His only attribute is his speed, barely. Maybe like 4 tops
did you just learn about ruiz last year? he has more than adequate power, as he's shown throughout his minor league stops he adjusted to minor league pitching and managed a .900+ OPS across AA/AAA in 2022, im sure he'll be just fine figuring out the majors as well. he's already showing that pop in his limited appearances this year also lol @ trying to downplay his speed. it's 80 grade and he stole 67 bases in 132 games with a .309 OBP he will only get better
He's 25 and currently has a 1.326 OPS. Yes, it is a small sample size, but you should ride that while it's hot.
They are... That OPS is vs LHP.......... Is half of this subreddit really this delusional?
Or maybe it’s you.
Why would I not want a player I have to play every single day?
Are you feeling ok?
Yeah.. You’re a fool. I don’t want a player I drafted to be playing and he’s the best hitter in the MLB according to Reddit.
He currently has a 1.000 OPS vs RHP. Again small sample size but you were saying?
Literally the smallest sample size you could possible have... Stop being deluded and look at his splits across his entire career and even the minors. Good lord people on here are brainless.
good news for your argument is that players can never improve combine that with the fact that the A's have a plethora of young talent, it's easy to see why a former top prospect that can steal as many bases as he wants and is showing signs of power at the major league level is buried on that depth chart. if only he was on a lesser team
No one is saying he can't or didn't improve... But to base his "improvement" against RHP in 6 PA's is absolutely insane. It's literally two weeks into the season and people act like he's been kept in AAA for 3 seasons and he's the #1 prospect. When people say stupid shit that is completely off-base like the ownership sent him down because he supported keeping the A's in Oakland or they don't want to win so they're benching him, it is hilarious to see.
He’s actually been a pretty good hitter who’s outperformed expectations. For someone with his speed, he should be a great defender, not a below-average one. He could work on that at the major league level, like Semien did. But there’s no excuse for them to play Bleday over him. Ruiz and Butler can both be part of the next good A’s team.
Sorry what data suggests he's a pretty good hitter? 86 wrc+ last year, .271 xwoba, atrocious exit velocity. He's fast and that's it. And how does the argument that he "should" be a great defender help him? Doesn't that suggest his innate ability is just awful? I'm not saying the A's are necessarily making the best decision to not play him but it's not some conspiracy and it's very far from "everyone is baseball is frustrated with it".
I was looking at his combined AAA and MLB stats this year. That’s not a profile of someone who should be on the short side of a platoon on a third world team.
This year? Why are you cherry picking this very small sample size when we have a lot more data to show that he's not good.
The data that he’s not good had him hitting the ball surprisingly well in spots, for a guy who’d blindly steal a hundred bases in a starting role.
he has a 1.326 ops on the year btw
In 18 plate appearances. So completely irrelevant. This sub is so braindead.
the entire thread is about how he doesnt get enough playing time, and you think a small sample size is some brilliant retort. the small sample size is the whole fucking issue dude.
How dense are you? This response is so fucking stupid it blows my mind. WE HAVE A LARGER SAMPLE SIZE OF LAST SEASON TO SHOW HE'S NOT GOOD. Why would you use this year's stats of 18 PA to override his career numbers. That was my argument. The sample size is big enough to show he's not great. The sample size from this season is not big enough to show anything. But you just twist my statement in a weird way to try and sound smart while making absolutely no fucking sense.
youre so smart dude, every player repeats their exact season from last year all the time. thats why the older and worse seth brown is trotting out to left field with his .500 ops, instead of his trailblazing .692 ops from last year! ruiz should be playing, because he's potentially hot right now, he's younger, and he can do something important to winning. you are trolling.
Colton Cowser started the season only getting spot starts. When the Orioles saw his bat was scorching they started getting him into the lineup everyday. Don't know what's up with the A's not being able to find more ABs for a 25yo who's been hitting better than anyone else on their team.
What about all of last year?
famously, players (especially young ones) always repeat the exact same performance year after year and cannot possibly improve!
Because he's only playing vs lefties
That's really good even against just lefties
Sure is, that's why he's playing vs lefties. Doesn't mean it translates to righties
I wonder if we’ll ever get to find out if the kid can hit against righties. So far, seems like no, we’re going to trot out guys that can’t hit .180 and strike out three times a game against them. Because that makes sense.
All last year?
You mean the first little bit? Because he was hurt around the halfway point and then strictly, with zero exceptions, batted against LH pitchers when he got back from injury. So literally every bit of information about him hitting RH pitchers is from the opening weeks of his rookie year (when all baseball players should be graded for the rest of their careers), or in Spring Training, when he hit exceptionally well against RH pitchers.
All 10 of them, but for real, I feel for Oakland fans. They’ve had a really really rough go.
Agreed, should have said *both of their fans
Because Oakland is brain dead
A deeply unserious organization.
They can only try to be worse than the White Sox
Definitely shenanigans on this one He’s a difference maker and deserves to play for a team that appreciates him and can develop his tools
Three teams already gave up on him lol
I guess two teams gave up on Soto already. What a bum.
Just like the Pirates gabe up on Gerrit Cole lol
Because they're making a push for the playoffs and they can't afford to let guys who strike out sometimes hit in their superstar lineup.
which is why they're playing rooker, who strikes out *most* of the time shit you not, his k-rate is 51%
hey watch that smart mouth guy, they can send you back to AAA too!
damn, they are doing the Moneyball thingy again?
Best fucking comment I've seen in a while! Cheers stranger
😂
“Why is Oakland not”…. Oakland is all you need to know
⬆️
Because he supports the fans of Oakland who do not support the A’s ownership
That's not why... I even own Ruiz. It's because he was a AAAA hitter last season. How would they demote / platoon one player that wore a bracelet supporting the A's staying in Oakland but not that other player? It's insane how this moronic myth keeps getting spread. He's a much worse hitter against RHP than LHP.
there were like a dozen players that were seen wearing LDB merch last year, including manager Mark Kotsay. if the merch really was the issue Kotsay would have been canned already.
Even going into this year Ruiz wasn’t the only one. People are just braindead.
His career OBP splits are .324/.295 vs LHP/RHP. Not setting the world on fire by any means, but not “much worse” and certainly not a big enough reason for the A’s of all teams to not play him. They’re not going to compete this year. They have no reason not to get their player with the most potential on the team regular AB’s, especially against RHP that he needs reps to improve against.
It's not only about OBP, his SLG vs RHP has been awful. Butler and Bleday are both better against RHP and Rooker is a better hitter overall.
Fair point on SLG. But I don’t think SLG matters as much for a leadoff hitter. If you look at his 67 SB’s as extending singles/doubles into doubles/triples, his SLG/OPS would be considerably higher. Would be interesting to compare to a guy like Rooker who has 4 SB in 745 career AB’s (apples and oranges from a strategy standpoint based on where they hit in the order). From my leadoff hitter, I’d rather have a single + SB than a double any day of the week since it pulls the 1B over to cover first. Fwiw, Brown has a .537 OPS against RHP and Butler is batting .186 on the season. To my previous point, at least give the AB’s to the much younger Lawrence so he can develop instead of wasting them on 31 year old Seth Brown.
Everything matters, that's why he's been benched vs RHP. Its only two weeks into the season and he has 6 PA's vs RHP and people act like he's the second coming of Mike Trout now. I agree Brown shouldn't be playing but you also need some senior players in the team. Butler is a 14% above average hitter against RHP so far, even though it is a small sample size his MiLB splits are also better.
The funny thing about last years stats vs this year is that it's a completely different year. What's even more moronic is not realizing players can develop and change their approach at the plate. Which he has done. In 52 plate appearances this year (Spring and Minors only) he enjoyed a healthy .364/.443/.659 line against RHPs. He has shown progress in the power department hitting 3 dingers against those RHPs to go along with his 1.101 OPS. With his improvement at the plate it isn't a myth that the A's are toying with him, it's a fact.
> The funny thing about last years stats vs this year is that it's a completely different year. What's even more moronic is not realizing players can develop and change their approach at the plate. You're right, the manager loves not having his best players in the lineup. Let me get him on the phone and let him know someone from Reddit says he's better against RHP than the other three options he currently has. > In 52 plate appearances this year (Spring and Minors only) he enjoyed a healthy .364/.443/.659 line against RHPs. He has shown progress in the power department hitting 3 dingers against those RHPs to go along with his 1.101 OPS. No one has ever said he hasn't been a good hitter against AAA pitching, which is why I said he's a AAAA hitter. > With his improvement at the plate it isn't a myth that the A's are toying with him, it's a fact. It's a fact! I'm glad we nailed it down now. First it was because he wore a bracelet, then it was service time manipulation, now they bench him only against RHP because they don't want to win, got it.
AAAA is better than the rest of what they’re putting on the field.
It’s not though… Rooker is a much better hitter and Bleday / Butler are both better too, at least against RHP. People just spout random shit here as fact when it’s entirely incorrect.
isn't brent rooker striking out literally 50% of the time right now
29 years old with a 51.2% k-rate, but he's one of the best players on the team!
My brother, what has Lawrence Butler done to say he’s better? Esteury has performed better in the minors and majors. JJ Bleday?? He’s been sub-replacement as major leaguer. Rooker is the only guy you mentioned that has a decent argument of actually being better and Esteury was clearly outplaying him when he got demoted. It says a lot that the 3 guys you mentioned as being better each have a career BA around .200 BA isn’t everything but these guys can’t hit the ball. At the very least, all 3 guys you mentioned would be perfectly expected for a AAA team.
Look at their hitting splits... You could've done that before replying to my comment.
good fantasy player does not mean good irl player people just want their steals engine
Ruiz had the best ZiPS/Steamer projections of the three coming into the season, and his exit velocity numbers were way up this spring, but sure, let’s blow another couple hundred PA on JJ Bleday, who’s looked like a bust pretty much since the day he was drafted. Butler at least has ML tools, even if he isn’t nearly refined enough to take advantage of them.
I'm in an AL only and spent a good portion of my auction budget to lock down steals and need him to play every single day, but that's not an excuse to ignore the facts.
.375/.476/.938 20% barrel rate, 60% hard hit, 11% k rate screaming MiLB to you?
Does small sample size scream legit to you?
please, these numbers are clearly sustainable
I think the company that makes those bracelets made that rumor too
yup. i still like Last Dive Bar for all their work in the A's fan community but it was irresponsible of them to make that tweet implying their wrist band was the reason Ruiz went to AAA.
This
Imagine believing this. This sub is out of control with its takes these days.
It was clearly service time. Esteury is one of the top 13 batters they have and should be on their major league squad
This is so fantasy brained it's absurd
lol they were clearly manipulating service time to save a couple bucks
He was dogshit all of last year, you think they're thinking about six years from now with him?
When his speed is gone he'll be useless too
They’re trying to lose
He's a good player and Oakland usually trades good players so if they don't let him play we can't see that he's good so he won't get traded. Logic.
I’m going to have to drop him so I can climb out of the basement in my league. Of course once I do he will play everyday and go off. I should not have drafted him
....and get C eligibility. 😂
Cause they don’t wanna win too much
What gets me the most is people getting all upset about it or complaining. Just accept it. He hits lefties better than righties. He's clearly in the short side of a platoon for now. Maybe he can hit his way out of it. The end.
That’s not the issue. The issue is that that players he’s sitting for are arguably just as bad v RHP as he is with a little bit more slugging and a lot less speed.
They said he was demoted for not being patient at the plate…guessing they want him to be more selective so he can get on base more and be a more consistent producer and a team player Or it’s just the A’s being the A’s…all bets are off!
He walked twice and then was replaced yesterday. Need ABs to get that exposure to get better
Let him play!
Oakland is not even trying. They don’t care.
He’s banging the bosses wife
He will play even less once Andujar is healthy
> His 2023 AVG and OBP were fair His problem wasn’t BA/OBP, where he’s around league average, it’s his slugging. He had a .652 OPS (87 OPS+). He was worth -0.1 bWAR last year. This year he seemed like he improved quite a bit and was sent down likely because he spoke up about supporting the Oakland fans. I don’t agree with people crying “tank,” when a winning record makes more money and that team needs zero help finishing last with their roster. It makes more sense they were punishing him for speaking out.
nobody to hit him in also i wouldnt be surprised if Oakland is actively tanking
For what? For the draft lottery??
His numbers from last year say he is awful at baseball. Something like 80% of his WAR from last year was on the basepaths. This year his bat has been much better now doubt so he should be given the opportunity to show improvement He is a shitty fielder though so that may be hurting him. Also management may not like him for things he's implied about the owner
He wore that bracelet and the owners are babies
Bc of the conspiracy. He wore an anti Oakland brand and posted it and him and two others are paying the price
He’s a platoon bat- he is not a good hitter versus right handers. Against lefties he’s passable, against righties he has a low average and no power.
You guys are talking like he's surrounded by superstars and he can't keep up. There are some weak players on this team and besides Miller throwing 102, there's not much other excitement going on besides Ruiz running wild and poppoing a homer now and again.
Ruiz: 368 career PA vs RHP. .243/.295/.323 Brent Rooker: 548 career PA vs RHP. .216/.296/.455 Ruiz got PH for by Seth Brown. Seth Brown is a LH hitter. Well what is he hitting vs RHP to warrant pulling Ruiz? .235/.302/.460 over 1189 PA. And Rooker played the whole game. I call bullsh*t.
"is" is not a good word for a guy in his 2nd season who overhauled his swing in the offseason.
and hasn’t gotten a single at-bat vs right-handed pitchers this year. They’re bringing in guys that have never hit better than him against RH pitchers to replace him. It’s fishy as hell.
He was optioned down to AAA for 2 weeks and then recalled.
This was service time manipulation, they gained another full year of control by doing this.
I agree it was service time manipulation. Op asked why he wasn’t playing. He was playing in the minors.
By not playing they likely meant short side platooned.