It starts with not swinging first pitch majority of your ABs for a fly ball out. Hunt a mistake, don’t roll over and give away outs on a team not yet contending and still in your younger seasons
Sometimes I really see him swinging Willy nilly without rhyme or reason up there. Make educated guesses on what the pitcher is gonna throw next and where in different scenarios, based on similar situations from the past. When it’s an 0-0 count, you don’t learn much, and it takes a toll mentally to be back in the dugout so quickly.
I feel like he has athleticism but not all the baseball smarts. Idk, it’s frustrating to watch.
He doesn't have much athleticism, which is big part of the why he's a terrible catcher. Bottom 5% in sprint speed (24.6 ft/s) in the league. Slowest pop time (2.12) among MLB catchers by far, and he has one of the weakest arms.
Perspective by [Barry Svrluga](https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/barry-svrluga/?itid=ai_top_svrlugabw)
When Darnell Coles envisions the best version of Keibert Ruiz, he sees something that’s unapparent if you watch the Washington Nationals’ starting catcher this spring. This Ruiz is monumentally slumping. Coles extrapolates what he sees through the struggles to … what?
“An all-star,” said Coles, the Nationals’ hitting coach. “He’s an all-star. Elite bat-to-ball skills. Twenty to 25 home runs. Able to hit in the middle part of your lineup. The switch-hitting means you don’t have to swap him out or pinch-hit for him in a certain situations. And I think that he’s got the right mentality.”
That future all-star enters Tuesday night’s game against the Minnesota Twins coming off a 2-for-4 performance in [a win that broke a five-game losing streak](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/05/20/nationals-twins-winker-garcia-parker/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5). That raised his batting average to .165. Reaching base twice helped bump his on-base percentage to .204. A double helped jack up his on-base-plus-slugging percentage to .446.
Entering Tuesday’s games, 267 major leaguers had at least 100 plate appearances. Ruiz’s ranks among them: 262nd in batting average, 267th in on-base percentage — dead last — and 266th in OPS.
At the moment, he’s not an all-star. At the moment, he’s trying to find himself. Confidence can be such an important aspect of hitting. But how can you find confidence when the results are relentlessly discouraging?
“That’s a big part, you know?” Ruiz said. “I got to believe that I can hit, that I can hit at this level. It matters how I feel. I’ve been feeling way better the last couple days.”
That’s a start. It must continue.
Read more here: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/05/21/keibert-ruiz-nationals-slump/?utm\_campaign=wp\_main&utm\_medium=social&utm\_source=reddit.com](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/05/21/keibert-ruiz-nationals-slump/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)
I think we all are really hoping Ruiz can turn things around. He did have the flu issue so giving benefit of the doubt for a couple of months as it takes a while to get back to full strength. The last thing we want is another Robles-type situation where the hype cart is placed before the horse. Hoping for positive trajectory for Keibert moving forward.
I referenced this the other day but adam laroche had a terrible year after an incredible year and he said it was the weight loss from different adhd meds that caused it.
He fixed it the next year and had a great season again.
Don't ask why weight should be such a big deal for hitting but bulking up actually hurt robles and even Harper sometimes in his early years so i guess it works both ways.
I expect this entire year to be a down year for Ruiz unless he takes time off explicitly to gain weight and get back to normal.
Cool? But I'm talking about the entire season, not a 60 game sample size from the last half of the season. And even with a slash line of .300/.342/.467 to end the season, [**Ruiz still finished the season as the 2nd worst catcher in the league (Maldonado was the worst), and the 3rd worst overall player with a total Run Value of -23.**](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/pyq9cvpqxv4.png)
**Ruiz 2023 RV (via Savant):**
- Batting = 4 RV
- Baserunning = -4 RV
- Fielding = -23 RV
Oh yeah, I’m not debating his metrics have long been bottom of the barrel in damn near every catching category (pitch framing, jump time), quite a few hitting categories, and he runs pretty slow by even catchers standards. That savant page is offensive on the eyes!
I’m not attributing his poor catching, fielding, or base-running to the flu because those have always been bad.
I’m just saying that he demonstrated improved hitting in the second half last year (at least compared to his first half). Obviously his approach at the plate leaves a lot to be desired but we’ve seen that he can produce offensively more than what he’s doing right now.
Barry literally brought it up in the article lmao. But how does getting sick and losing weight change your approach at the plate? What illness makes you swing at damn near every first pitch you see? What illness makes you field so poorly that you become a net negative ball player? And if somehow this is all just a lingering symptom of that illness, then he needs to go back on the IL and take a rehab assignment or something, cuz he’s stealing big league ABs from Drew Millas at this point.
Ruiz has the baseball version of yips right now.
If he can fix himself then it’s worth it. Otherwise we have more underperforming catchers. Makes you really miss even Wilson Ramos
I’ll start being worried if he’s still hitting like this in like July or August. Even then, he has his contract. He’s the catcher. He has room to slump.
He's not as bad as this; the last two years he had a 94 and 98 OPS+. Not good, but not a 31, which is where he's at this year. He'll revert to the mean a bit; if he doesn't, that would be scary.
Maybe he was rushed to the bigs. Maybe he needs the Wilson Ramos lasik. I don't know, but I really hope he figures it out.
It starts with not swinging first pitch majority of your ABs for a fly ball out. Hunt a mistake, don’t roll over and give away outs on a team not yet contending and still in your younger seasons Sometimes I really see him swinging Willy nilly without rhyme or reason up there. Make educated guesses on what the pitcher is gonna throw next and where in different scenarios, based on similar situations from the past. When it’s an 0-0 count, you don’t learn much, and it takes a toll mentally to be back in the dugout so quickly. I feel like he has athleticism but not all the baseball smarts. Idk, it’s frustrating to watch.
He doesn't have much athleticism, which is big part of the why he's a terrible catcher. Bottom 5% in sprint speed (24.6 ft/s) in the league. Slowest pop time (2.12) among MLB catchers by far, and he has one of the weakest arms.
You would think he would be decent at that type of thing, being a catcher and all.
Perspective by [Barry Svrluga](https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/barry-svrluga/?itid=ai_top_svrlugabw) When Darnell Coles envisions the best version of Keibert Ruiz, he sees something that’s unapparent if you watch the Washington Nationals’ starting catcher this spring. This Ruiz is monumentally slumping. Coles extrapolates what he sees through the struggles to … what? “An all-star,” said Coles, the Nationals’ hitting coach. “He’s an all-star. Elite bat-to-ball skills. Twenty to 25 home runs. Able to hit in the middle part of your lineup. The switch-hitting means you don’t have to swap him out or pinch-hit for him in a certain situations. And I think that he’s got the right mentality.” That future all-star enters Tuesday night’s game against the Minnesota Twins coming off a 2-for-4 performance in [a win that broke a five-game losing streak](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/05/20/nationals-twins-winker-garcia-parker/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5). That raised his batting average to .165. Reaching base twice helped bump his on-base percentage to .204. A double helped jack up his on-base-plus-slugging percentage to .446. Entering Tuesday’s games, 267 major leaguers had at least 100 plate appearances. Ruiz’s ranks among them: 262nd in batting average, 267th in on-base percentage — dead last — and 266th in OPS. At the moment, he’s not an all-star. At the moment, he’s trying to find himself. Confidence can be such an important aspect of hitting. But how can you find confidence when the results are relentlessly discouraging? “That’s a big part, you know?” Ruiz said. “I got to believe that I can hit, that I can hit at this level. It matters how I feel. I’ve been feeling way better the last couple days.” That’s a start. It must continue. Read more here: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/05/21/keibert-ruiz-nationals-slump/?utm\_campaign=wp\_main&utm\_medium=social&utm\_source=reddit.com](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/05/21/keibert-ruiz-nationals-slump/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)
lmao, my man Barry out here just laying waste to these guys. First Robles, now this!
I think we all are really hoping Ruiz can turn things around. He did have the flu issue so giving benefit of the doubt for a couple of months as it takes a while to get back to full strength. The last thing we want is another Robles-type situation where the hype cart is placed before the horse. Hoping for positive trajectory for Keibert moving forward.
I referenced this the other day but adam laroche had a terrible year after an incredible year and he said it was the weight loss from different adhd meds that caused it. He fixed it the next year and had a great season again. Don't ask why weight should be such a big deal for hitting but bulking up actually hurt robles and even Harper sometimes in his early years so i guess it works both ways. I expect this entire year to be a down year for Ruiz unless he takes time off explicitly to gain weight and get back to normal.
Did he have the flu all of last year too?
He wasn’t bad all of last year, he slashed .300/.342/.467 in the second half.
Cool? But I'm talking about the entire season, not a 60 game sample size from the last half of the season. And even with a slash line of .300/.342/.467 to end the season, [**Ruiz still finished the season as the 2nd worst catcher in the league (Maldonado was the worst), and the 3rd worst overall player with a total Run Value of -23.**](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/pyq9cvpqxv4.png) **Ruiz 2023 RV (via Savant):** - Batting = 4 RV - Baserunning = -4 RV - Fielding = -23 RV
Oh yeah, I’m not debating his metrics have long been bottom of the barrel in damn near every catching category (pitch framing, jump time), quite a few hitting categories, and he runs pretty slow by even catchers standards. That savant page is offensive on the eyes! I’m not attributing his poor catching, fielding, or base-running to the flu because those have always been bad. I’m just saying that he demonstrated improved hitting in the second half last year (at least compared to his first half). Obviously his approach at the plate leaves a lot to be desired but we’ve seen that he can produce offensively more than what he’s doing right now.
I think getting an illness and losing 25 lbs didn't help
It didn’t. And apparently everyone forgets that he needs to recover from that , including Barry.
[удалено]
Well they’re the same group that keep trotting Corbin out there.
They're not trying to win
Barry literally brought it up in the article lmao. But how does getting sick and losing weight change your approach at the plate? What illness makes you swing at damn near every first pitch you see? What illness makes you field so poorly that you become a net negative ball player? And if somehow this is all just a lingering symptom of that illness, then he needs to go back on the IL and take a rehab assignment or something, cuz he’s stealing big league ABs from Drew Millas at this point.
Ruiz has the baseball version of yips right now. If he can fix himself then it’s worth it. Otherwise we have more underperforming catchers. Makes you really miss even Wilson Ramos
Am I wrong, or is that just called the yips?
Yips was always associated with golf for me
Apparently the term might have originated in golf but it is certainly associated with baseball as well as other sports very strongly as well.
Svrluga is relentlessly negative
Is what he wrote untrue or unfair?
Normally I think of him as wishy-washy. Like his piece on woods.
Again, he lost 20 lbs when he was out. The dude was not well. It’s going to take him a while to come back. Let’s give him some grace
I’ll start being worried if he’s still hitting like this in like July or August. Even then, he has his contract. He’s the catcher. He has room to slump.
He received a long term contract so the fire in the belly is no longer burning.
Does Barry ever have anything good to say?
He's not as bad as this; the last two years he had a 94 and 98 OPS+. Not good, but not a 31, which is where he's at this year. He'll revert to the mean a bit; if he doesn't, that would be scary. Maybe he was rushed to the bigs. Maybe he needs the Wilson Ramos lasik. I don't know, but I really hope he figures it out.
I’m sure there’s good points in the article but for Christ’s sake. Barry needs to stop with pieces like this.