Carlos Ruiz is not on the All-Star Game ballot for the Phillies.
Rod Barajas is.
Those ballots are made early, and the Phillies certainly thought Barajas would get the majority of playing time this season. They signed him to a $2.5 million contract (with a $500,000 buyout for 2008). He was experienced. Ruiz, while talented, had never played a full-season at the big-league level and that concerned them. But it's May 16, and Ruiz, who hit a game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning last night in a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, has made his presence known. He is hitting .295 with three home runs and 17 RBIs in 95 at-bats. He has a .474 slugging percentage and a .337 on-base percentage. And he has put up those numbers hitting eighth in the lineup, which is never easy.
Manager Charlie Manuel, who said in the spring that the better performer would earn more playing time, has noticed. Ruiz has started 24 of the team's 39 games this season, including the last four.
Barajas (.178, two homers, four RBIs) has started 15.
How do Ruiz's numbers compare to other catchers in baseball?
In the majors, amongst catchers with at least 80 at-bats, he ranks 10th in hitting, seventh in slugging and 11th in on-base percentage. He is tied for eighth in home runs and eighth in RBIs. And it's important to note that most of the catchers ahead of him have at least 100 at-bats.
In the National League, Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann is hitting .289 with three homers and 19 RBIs in 114 at-bats. He has a .456 slugging percentage and .357 on-base percentage. Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin is hitting .313 with two homers and 23 RBIs in 131 at-bats. He has a .450 slugging and .388 on-base. Milwaukee Brewers catcher Johnny Estrada is hitting .301 with five homers and 14 RBIs in 123 at-bats. He has a .496 slugging and .323 on-base.
I would suspect Martin, McCann, Estrada and Chicago Cubs catcher Michael Barrett receive the most serious consideration for the All-Star Game in San Francisco. Could Ruiz play himself into the discussion? There's no reason why he couldn't, but I don't think he's well enough known to surpass them. (Sometimes that's all it takes.) But he also might not have the at-bats to considered.
Maybe he should.
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Cole Hamels could get the Phillies (19-20) to .500 for the first time this season with a good start tonight. He's been in the big leagues for a year, and it's been a good one.
Comments (1)
Hey Todd,
Did Ruben Amaro really have the nerve to tell you the Polanco for Urbina trade was good for the phillies? Besides the fact that Polanco is in the top ten in hitting in the American League and Urbina is in prison for 10 years, the fact is Urbina wasnt very good when he was here. 56 games, 1 save and 6 blown saves, 8 home runs and an era above 4. Maybe he's one of the reasons the phillies didnt win anything.
The point is they are lousy evaluators of talent. The guys they think arent worth taking a chance on often do well for other teams Borowski is just one example.
Posted by John | May 16, 2007 11:39 AM
Posted on May 16, 2007 11:39