Esteury

Ruiz

Ruiz is only playing about half of the time against righties at the moment, but he still rates as a sneaky play in shallow leagues next week, what with the Marlins playing seven games in Colorado and Sacramento. He’s hitting .273/.374/.545 with 16 steals in 92 plate appearances.

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.

He also stole a base. Ruiz, who was acquired from the Dodgers over the winter, was making his second start in six games since coming off the injured list last week. With his speed, he might be a fantasy factor if he ever convinces the Marlins to play him regularly. Still, that probably wouldn’t work out very well for the team. He’ll likely start mostly versus lefties for now.

Hicks was a late scratch on Tuesday with an illness, but he will just miss one game and be back in the lineup. Agustin Ramirez is out of the lineup with Kyle Stowers at DH and Esteury Ruiz starting in left field and batting ninth.