Esteury

Ruiz

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.

It’s a bizarre-looking lineup from manager Clayton McCullough with Ramírez entering the leadoff spot while Jakob Marsee draws out of the lineup for the first time this season. Esteury Ruiz is making his first start of the year in center field. The 24-year-old power/speed combo backstop is off to a frosty start at the dish, hitting .226/.298/.366 with two homers, 12 RBI and one steal through 25 games.

No word yet on the corresponding move, but it’s likely speedster Esteury Ruiz coming off the injured list for Friday’s series opener against the Giants, not a pitching prospect like Robby Snelling or Thomas White being promoted. Slater hit .174 (4-for-23) with zero extra-base hits, one RBI and one steal in 12 games for the Marlins after signing a one-year contract last month. The 33-year-old is merely a bench option against left-handed pitchers at this stage of his career.

Ruiz is expected to miss 6-8 weeks after being diagnosed with a left oblique strain earlier this week. The 27-year-old speedster projects as a reserve outfielder for the Marlins once he’s back up and running.

The 27-year-old speedster will open the season on the injured list and isn’t likely to be an option for the Marlins until the end of May. He suffered the injury on an awkward swing during Friday’s Grapefruit League contest. It’s a tough break, as he was trending towards cracking the team’s Opening Day roster.

Ruiz was lifted from Friday’s spring training contest with an apparent left side injury following an awkward swing. The 27-year-old speedster was in camp battling with Heriberto Hernandez for the final spot on Miami’s bench. There should be a clearer picture on his status at some point this weekend.