Esteury Ruiz swipes two bags against Cardinals

The Marlins are using a pretty strict platoon lineup these days. Ramírez will DH and hit third, while Ruiz will play right field and bat fifth, and Serna will play second base and hit eighth. Kyle Stowers will shift to the bench for this one, as will Owen Caissie and Graham Pauley, who all play primarily versus righties.

Despite hitting well in 138 plate appearances for the Marlins, the team has seemed reluctant to give him at-bats against right-handed pitching over Jakob Marsee. With Jesus Luzardo on the mound today, Ruiz will get a start, but the Marlins face only one more lefty this week, so his playing time might be limited.

It looked like Ruiz was going to be responsible for the only run of the game for both teams, but a three-run homer by William Contreras changed that. The 27-year-old has shown some surprising pop as that’s his fourth homer in 59 games, and he’s slugging .495. He’s also stolen 20 bags — that part is far less surprising — and hey, maybe he’s developing into an offensive threat at age 27. Weirder things have happened.

Ruiz has now been on the bench for two straight games as Heriberto Hernandez, Owen Caissie, and Jakob Marsee start in the outfield. This was always part of the risk when Griffin Conine came back from the injured list and filled the designated hitter spot. It seems like Ruiz will be limited to mostly starting against left-handed pitchers and pinch running for the time being.

It would be easy to say that it’s because the Rangers are starting a left-handed pitcher, but Tyler Alexander is just the opener for Kumar Rocker. Caissie has hit .171/.265/.439 in 15 games in Juene with three home runs and 11 RBI, but a 30.6 percent strikeout rate. With Griffin Conine returning on Sunday, the Marlins DH spot is full, so Caissie, Jakob Marsee, Heriberto Hernandez, and Esteury Ruiz will have to split time between the three outfield spots. Hernandez has a 160 wRC+ in June, and Ruiz has a 242 wRC+ in just 39 plate appearances, but has earned more time. That may mean more days off for Caissie.

Ruiz took Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo deep in the seventh inning to break up a potential shutout and supply Miami’s only runs of the one-sided affair. It was his fourth long ball of the season. The 27-year-old speedster has been on a roll lately, hitting .368 (7-for-19) with two homers and four steals since the start of June.

The Marlins have struggled to find a consistent first base option this year, but this could be a boost to their lineup if Stowers is able to stick there defensively. On Thursday, Esteury Ruiz will play left field and bat ninth, but this would also open up extra bats for Heriberto Hernandez.

Ruiz is making the most of his chance with the Marlins. With just eight hits in 37 at-bats so far this season, six have gone for extra bases. Plus, that stolen base was already his eighth. He’s also been trusted in all three outfield spots already and has appeared in 22 games despite only starting 10. He can be an asset in a very deep league.

Ruiz got just his fourth start of the season since he was activated on April 22. He provided all of the team’s offense against the Phillies, taking Jesus Luzardo deep for a two-run homer in the seventh inning for his second home run of the season. The 27-year-old outfielder will likely continue to be limited to sporadic playing time against right-handers and starts against left-handed pitching.

Esteury Ruiz takes over in left field and will hit ninth in his place. Caissie cooled off considerably in recent weeks, and is hitting just .200/.242/.333 with two homers, 15 RBI and one steal through 30 games in his Marlins debut.