July 20, 2014: On his 16th birthday, Ruiz signed with the Dodgers, via scouts Francisco Cartaya and Pedro Avila. He received $140,000.

In Venezuela, Keibert trained with Carlos Guillen.

In 2017, the Baseball America Prospect Handbook rated Keibert as the 20th-best prospect in the Dodgers organization. He moved all the way up to third-best in the offseason before 2018 spring camp opened. But in the spring of 2019, Ruiz was the #1 prospect in the Dodgers organization. He was at #3 in the spring of 2020. But he jumped back up to #1 in 2021.

In 2022, he was #1 after moving to the Washington Nationals.

August 23, 2017: The Dodgers named Ruiz their Minor League Player of the Year.

July 2018: Ruiz represented the Dodgers in the All-Star Futures game.

2018 Season: One of the game's best catching prospects, Ruiz held his own offensively this year as the second-youngest regular (age 19 for most of the season) in the Double-A Texas League. He's a switch-hitter with advanced feel for the barrel and developing power, with most of his home runs coming as a left-hander. Ruiz is improving defensively and could become a solid receiver with arm strength to match.

And in his age-19 season, as the rare teenaged catcher in the upper levels, Ruiz had the lowest strikeout rate of any hitter in Double-A, hit a career-high 12 home runs and ably handled Tulsa’s high-octane pitching staff.

2019 Summary: The Dodgers’ #4 prospect started his 2019 season where he ended it in 2018 with Double-A Tulsa. While the then-20-year-old struggled to find the offensive consistency early in the year that he’d displayed at previous levels, posting a career-low .659 OPS in 76 games, Ruiz came on strong in the second half. He provided reason for excitement at the plate after a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City in late July. He posted a hit in each of his nine games at Triple-A (a .316/.350/.474 slash line overall) before a finger injury sidelined him the rest of the season.

Best 2019 Moment: After recording four homers in 276 Double-A at-bats, Ruiz came out mashing at the Triple-A level with a home run and four RBI in his Oklahoma City debut on July 21 — one day after his 21st birthday.

Standout Stat: Ruiz is a switch-hitter, but most of his pop at the plate has come from the left-handed batter’s box, where he’s posted 16 of his 18 home runs the last two seasons.

Interesting Fact: The 21-year-old has played across seven teams of the Dodgers’ farm system in which he’s been the youngest or tied for the youngest age in the league. While known for his defensive capabilities as a young catcher, Ruiz hit .354/.393/.503 for Rookie-level Ogden when he was a 17-year-old in 2016.

Where He Stands: Ruiz will likely start his 2020 season where he ended it in 2019 with Triple-A, hoping to pick up where he left off. Considering Ruiz has been in the Dodger organization since 2014, it’s easy to forget he’s still just 21 years old with all the tools to develop into a major big league contributor. In Ruiz and Will Smith, the future at the catcher position looks bright for the Dodgers. And if Ruiz can put thing together at the plate the way Will Smith did last year, it shouldn’t be long before he’s making his debut. (Rowan Kavner - May 9, 2020)

2020 Season: Ruiz has been one of the top prospects in the Dodgers organization for years. His name has been brought up in a number of trade talks over the last few seasons, but LA held onto him as they believe he can be a really good MLB catcher.

Though he only appeared in two games this season, he showed what he’s capable of as he hit a home run in his first career at-bat. We did this trivia back when he hit it, but I want to ask the question again. Can anyone guess who the previous Dodgers player was to homer in their first career AB?

Garey Ingram on May 19, 1994!

Anyways, that was the highlight of Ruiz’s season with LA. In two games, he only totaled eight AB’s on the year as he spent majority of his time at the alternate site.

Ruiz only has 22 days of service time. He’s not arbitration eligible until 2024. Expect to see more of him with the big-league roster in 2021, unless he’s used as a trade chip to acquire Major-League-ready talent this offseason. (BlakeHarris@BlakeHarrisTBLA - Nov 14, 2020)

Keibert woke up the morning of August 30, 2021, around six o’clock.  He had slept well, and he was excited: the next chapter in his promising baseball career was about to begin. 

He made his debut with the Nats in the 7-4 series-opening loss to the Phillies at Nationals Park.  Ruiz went 1-for-4 with a bloop single to center field, two popouts to shortstop and a lineout to left field while batting sixth.  “He handled himself well,” manager Dave Martinez said.

Ruiz’s first time behind the plate had been highly anticipated ever since he was acquired as a centerpiece of the blockbuster deal that sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers at the Trade Deadline.  Upon his callup, he was appointed the role of the Nats’ new everyday starting catcher.  Riley Adams will back him up. 

“It feels good.  I feel proud of myself,” Ruiz said pregame of the trade.  “If they do that, it's because they see something in me.  But like I say, I'm not trying to put pressure on myself, just trying to keep getting better, keep playing my game, just do what I have to do to have good results." 

In addition to the support of the Nationals’ home crowd, Ruiz also was cheered on by his wife and baby.  He credited their presence at his Triple-A games as a key to his success this season, and knowing they were in the stands at Nats Park for his debut helped, too. 

“I enjoyed it a lot,” Ruiz said.  “I was happy they can see me play here in the big leagues.  I’m looking forward to keep getting better, keep knowing all the guys here, all the pitchers and trying to win some ballgames.”  (Camerato - mlb.com - 8/31/2021)

2021 Season:  As a 22-year-old in AAA this year, he bounced back and everything seemed to click. He was slashing .311 / .381 / .631 in Oklahoma City and was arguably the key piece in the Scherzer/Turner deal to L.A. The move from the more offensively minded used to be PCL to the used to be ECL didn't change anything and after getting all the constant ABs the Nats felt he needed, Ruiz debuted in the Majors.

It wasn't smooth sailing at first, but a late rally had him finishing the season at .284 / .348 / .395. 

Ruiz is naturally introverted. Often, while his teammates are chatting or dancing in the back of the clubhouse, the 23-year-old walks through the room quietly with a bat in his hand or sits at the chair in his locker while using his phone. His demeanor stems from a lesson he said his dad taught him from a young age: Don’t talk much — let your glove and bat do the speaking. (Andrew Golden - May 18, 2022)

 2022 Season Stats:  112 G, 433 PA, 394 AB, 33 R, 99 H, 22 2B, 0 3B, 7 HR, 36 RBI, 6 SB, 1 CS, 30 BB, 50 SO, .251 AVG, .313 OBP, .360 SLG, .673 OPS, 95 OPS+, -4 DRS, 1.7 fWAR, 1.6 bWAR

Davey Martinez: “I’ll tell you, he’s done really well. We talk about him a lot, but he’s matured behind the plate. He’s gotten a lot better at calling games. His hitting has gotten a lot better. As you know, he’s a catch-and-throw guy. He can throw guys out. He blocks balls well. He’s going to be a big part of our future moving forward. I truly believe one of these years, this kid will be an All-Star. He’s improved that much.” 

Analysis: The Nationals entered the season believing Ruiz would be their long-term answer behind the plate, and his ensuing performance – while still leaving some things to be desired – only solidified that feeling within the organization.

Ruiz impressed most with his defensive skills, especially his ability to stop the running game. For most of the season, he was neck-and-neck with Phillies All-Star J.T. Realmuto in the race to throw out the most runners trying to steal, though his September injury ultimately left him a distant second with 18 to Realmuto’s 27. That figure doesn’t include his league-leading four runners picked off, all four of those coming in the first half of the season when he and former first baseman Josh Bell were in sync on well-executed timing plays.

At the plate, Ruiz lived up to his reputation as a highly skilled contact hitter. He made contact on an astounding 91 percent of pitches in the strike zone, and maybe an even more astounding 72.5 percent on pitches out of the strike zone. That, though, may underscore his biggest area for improvement. Ruiz needs to learn to lay off more of those pitches out of the zone, recognizing just because he can hit them doesn’t mean he’ll always make the best contact on them. Evidence of that, perhaps: His batting average on balls in play was an extremely low .271 (league average was .291). Ruiz might actually fare better putting fewer balls in play.

Ruiz was getting better, at everything, in late August and early September before an unfortunate injury suffered when he was struck by a foul ball ended his season four weeks early. Had he been able to finish out the year, his offensive totals might have looked better.  (Mark Zuckerman - Oct. 14, 2022)

2022 Season: In his first big league season in 2022, Ruiz was worth 1.8 fWAR for the Nats over 112 games, which wasn’t bad for a rookie showing. He managed to follow that up with a 0.0 fWAR in 2023, which would seem odd considering his offensive numbers improved across the board (nine more home runs, a higher wRC+ and a higher wOBA). However, his -14 DRS behind the plate helps put that zero fWAR into context.

Despite his struggles defensively, Ruiz is still just 25 years old with room to grow. And as we observed earlier, his offensive numbers are steadily rising. ZiPS concurs, projecting him to finish the 2024 season with career-bests in fWAR (2.1) and wRC+ (103) while also slugging 17 home runs. (Seth Carlson - Feb 11, 2024)

March 10, 2023: Ruiz, 24, is entering his fourth Major League season. The switch-hitter batted .251 with a career-high 36 RBIs and seven home runs last year. This winter, he worked on incorporating his legs more into his swing and staying in the middle of the field. 

“We talk about this a lot. He’s got tremendous bat-to-ball skills,” manager Dave Martinez said at the beginning of camp. “We’re trying to get him to understand what balls he hits really well, and stay back and try to drive those balls. Basically, try to get his A-swing off every pitch. And he’s done a lot better, his BP has been a lot crisper, he’s staying behind balls better.” 

A quiet leader, Ruiz has been lauded for the growth of his voice behind the plate since he joined the Nats. This season, he will be tasked with catching veteran starters such as Patrick Corbin and Trevor Williams, as well as pitchers playing their first full Major League season, Cade Cavalli and MacKenzie Gore.

“I want to gain their confidence, and I want them to trust in me,” Ruiz said last month. “We’re a family here, so I want them to get confident with having me around and just be comfortable. At the end of the day, we’re all a team and I want us to go out there and feel like a family.” (J Camerato - MLB.com - March 10, 2023)

2023 Season: How Acquired: Traded by the Dodgers for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, 7/30/2021

Prospect Rank: N/A

2023 Level: MLB

What We Learned: That you have to be patient with young catchers. The Nats have historically been even worse at developing their own catchers than their own pitchers, so the trade for Ruiz as one of the two biggest return pieces at the 2021 deadline made sense. He then became the first piece of the new young core to get a long-term extension from the Nats early this season when he signed a $50 million deal that will keep him in a curly W through 2030.

Ruiz more than doubled his home run output this season but saw a defensive drop-off (rating as the third-worst framer in the sport and getting no help in holding runners from a pitching staff full of guys with huge leg kicks). When Ruiz remembers to swing at pitches he can barrel, he can run hot for weeks, but then will eventually revert to swinging at everything remotely close to the plate. If he’s hitting sixth or seventh, you feel pretty good about the lineup. If he’s hitting third or fourth, as he did for most of the last month-plus? Yikes. 

40-Man Odds: 100%

2024 Outlook: Barring injury, the starting catcher for 110 games and the designated hitter for 10-20 more. More of the second half Ruiz (.285/.332/.443) would be great, though. 

Can/Will He Be On a 2025 Contender? Yes and yes. He most certainly will, given that he’s under contract through the rest of the decade, and he can as well. Again, we have to be patient with catchers. (October 7, 2023 - Granit Rocmonster)

TRANSACTIONS

July 20, 2014: On his 16th birthday, Ruiz signed with the Dodgers, via scouts Francisco Cartaya and Pedro Avila. He received $140,000.

July 30, 2021: The Nationals traded RHP Max Scherzer and SS Trea Turner to the Dodgers; acquiring RF Donovan Casey, RHP Gerardo Carrillo, RHP Josiah Gray, and C Keibert Ruiz.

$1 million in 2023. $6 million in 2024 $5 million a year from 2025-27. $7 million in 2028. $9 million in 2029 and 2030. The deal also contained club options covering the 2031 and ’32 seasons.

Ruiz is a switch-hitting catcher since age 12. He has a contact-oriented approach from both sides of the plate. He hits the ball to either gap, but has more power hitting lefthanded.

He has a 60 grade hit tool, and a near-50 grade for his power—45 grade pop from the right side, but 50 grade from the left side.

In 2021, Keibert improved his swing path and pitch selection. He also added more power without sacrificing his elite strike-zone discipline. He also improved his righthanded swing, making him a more balanced switch-hitter with few weaknesses. He got more upright in his stance and keeping his hands closer to his body, have helped him make higher-quality contact, a trend that carried over in his small sample with the Nationals. Recent evaluations have also noted that he’s made strides in his approach and hunting for pitches against which he can do damage in the right counts. 

“We had no answer,” Sugar Land manager Mickey Storey said near the end of the 2021 season. “With all the advance information, the data, shifts, how to attack him on the mound, none of it worked. He found a way to really do damage.”  (Joe Healy - Baseball America Prospect Handbook - Spring 2022)

One of the premier contact hitters in the Minors, Ruiz has impressive bat control and a disciplined approach that has limited his strikeout rate to 10 percent in his first six pro seasons and just 7 percent in the upper Minors. A switch-hitter, he has much more power from the left side, where he has hit 28 of his 30 pro homers. He spent last summer at the alternate training site working on unlocking his power, making an adjustment to his lower half that helped him improve the quality of his contact. (Spring 2021)

Keibert has a natural ability to put the bat on the ball. He has elite hand-eye coordination, can manipulate the barrel to cover all parts of the strike zone and rarely swings and misses. Those traits have long given Ruiz the potential to be a plus hitter, but his quality of contact was often lacking.

The Dodgers made adjustments in 2020 to get him more upright in his stance and keep his hands closer to his body, and the result was a more direct path that helped him stay inside the ball and produce consistently harder contact. Ruiz is much stronger batting lefthanded and shows average power from that side. His righthanded swing is visually similar but lacks strength and largely produces weak contact.

Ruiz is an aggressive hitter who is still learning to pick out pitches he can drive rather than swinging at the first pitch near the strike zone. Once he improves his pitch selection, he has a chance to hit .280 or higher with double-digit home runs. (Kyle Glaser - Baseball America Prospect Handbook - Spring, 2021)

Thanks to his feel for the barrel and disciplined approach, Ruiz excels at making contact from both sides of the plate. He shows much more pop as a lefty hitter, with just two of his 29 homers in his first five pro seasons coming as a righty. He has solid raw power but won't fully tap into it until he becomes more selective hunting pitches he can drive. 

Armed with excellent bat-to-ball skills, Ruiz struck out in less than seven percent of his plate appearances in 2019. His ability to make contact, however, also hampered his on-base skills with a walk rate in the single digits and negatively impacted his fringe-average power because he often made contact without doing damage. 

His elite-hand eye coordination and ability to manipulate the barrel give him the foundation of a plus hitter, and he almost never swings and misses. Ruiz is often too passive early in counts and has to swing at pitches he can’t drive after pitchers get ahead, so the Dodgers have implored him to be more aggressive. The switch-hitting Ruiz flashes average power from the left side but almost none from the right. He should reach 12-15 homers once he starts picking out better pitches to drive. (Kyle Glaser - BA Prospect Handbook - Spring, 2020)

Keibert is a gifted switch-hitter with excellent timing, bat speed and loose wrists that enable him to manipulate the barrel to all parts of the zone, giving him excellent plate coverage against all types of pitches. He has an aggressive approach and doesn’t walk much, but he stays within the strike zone and rarely swings and misses.

Ruiz puts together quality at-bats from both sides of the plate, but he has faster hand speed and more natural lift in his lefthanded swing, resulting in significantly more impact contact from that side of the plate. Ruiz has progressively added strength and increased his home run total every season, now projecting for double-digit homers to go with a plus bat. (Kyle Glaser - BA Prospect Handbook - Spring, 2019)

Keibert doesn't have much power, except for doubles. But in 2017, he began to learn how to elevate with some loft in his swing, superb bat speed and very impressive timing.

Ruiz displays excellent bat speed from either side of the plate. He has the timing and ability to adjust the barrel to all different parts of the zone, with growing power. He rarely strikes out and knows when to take a walk. (Spring, 2018)

Like most switch-hitters, Ruiz is more productive from the left side, where he hit .276/.334/.420 with 11 of his 12 home runs.

Hit (55): Ruiz's most obvious skill is his ability to put the bat on the ball from both sides of the plate. A career .299 hitter with quality feel for the barrel, he has struck out in only nine percent of his professional plate appearances, including once in 40 trips in Triple-A last year. He makes contact so easily that it cuts into his walk rate, which is a paltry seven percent.  (Callis - mlb.com - 8/16/2020)

Power (45): Ruiz has yet to demonstrate that he can drive the ball consistently in the air, especially as a right-handed hitter. Of his 29 homers in pro ball, 27 have come as a lefty, and he has slugged just .341 as a righty. He possesses solid raw power but won't make the most of it unless he becomes more selective seeking pitches he can punish rather than effortlessly putting the ball in play.  (Callis - mlb.com - 8/16/2020)

BIG DEBUT

MLB debut (Aug 16, 2020):  Since 1887, there have been only 126 players to hit a home run in their first Major League Baseball at-bat. Six Dodgers had accomplished the rare feat, but only two since the team moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958:

Pitcher Clise Dudley – April 27, 1929 (first pitch)

Shortstop Gordon Slade – May 24, 1930

Outfielder Ernest Koy – April 19, 1938

Pitcher Dan Bankhead – August 26, 1947

Shortstop Jose Offerman – April 30, 1990

Pinch Hitter Garey Ingram – May 19, 1994 (batted for Orel Hershiser)

Those were the numbers until August 16, 2020, when 22-year-old Dodgers rookie catcher Keibert Ruiz came to the plate to lead off the top of the third inning against 10-year MLB veteran and Angels right-hander Julio Teheran.

The switch-hitting Ruiz positioned himself into the left batter’s box against the right-handed Teheran. On the third pitch, an 88.4 mph four-seam fastball, Ruiz pulled a line drive into the right field seats, forever adding his name to the MLB record books and becoming the first Dodgers catcher in franchise history to do so. (Jesse Pearce)

In his debut, he hit a home run in his first at-bat.

"Obviously that was my goal, to play in the big leagues," Ruiz said. "But whatever God gives to me I just focus on working hard and getting better every day."

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he sees improvement in the switch-hitter even as his development continues.

"I think, for me, the biggest stride that he's made is in the lefthanded batter's box," Roberts said. "Nothing more evident than the swing he put on his first Major League hit, the home run. (He got a) fastball, pulls his hands in, elevates the baseball to the pull side and back-spun it.

"As he was coming up, the bat-to-ball was always good but there was topspin, there was coming around the ball, putting the ball on the ground to the pull side. That's something that (player development) and Keibert have really tackled." (Bill Plunkett - Baseball America - Sept., 2020)

March 10, 2023: Ruiz, 24, is entering his fourth Major League season. The switch-hitter batted .251 with a career-high 36 RBIs and seven home runs last year. This winter, he worked on incorporating his legs more into his swing and staying in the middle of the field. 

“We talk about this a lot. He’s got tremendous bat-to-ball skills,” manager Dave Martinez said at the beginning of camp. “We’re trying to get him to understand what balls he hits really well, and stay back and try to drive those balls. Basically, try to get his A-swing off every pitch. And he’s done a lot better, his BP has been a lot crisper, he’s staying behind balls better.” (J Camerato - MLB.com - March 10, 2023)

Keibert's  receiving, throwing and game-calling continued improving and he grew into a consistently strong pitch-framer this year. He is an average defender with an average 50 grade arm.

Keibert is a potentially above-average receiver who blocks well and received positive reviews from the big leaguers who threw to him at the alternate training site. His game-planning and game-calling still have room to grow. He is becoming a 55 grade defender.

Ruiz has the tools to be a solid defender but lacks consistency behind the plate. He's agile with soft hands and good framing skills, and his pure arm strength grades as better than average. He can get lackadaisical with his receiving, however, and his transfer and accuracy with his throws still need improvement.(Spring 2021)

Ruiz’s arm strength is fringy to average, which was an issue in the majors when opponents went 3-for-3 on stolen bases against him in just 17 innings. (Kyle Glaser - BAPH - Spring, 2021)

Ruiz displays flashes of being an above-average catcher with average to above-average arm strength. He impressed with his game-calling and ability to handle a pitching staff despite being consistently young for the Triple-A level and also showed improved blocking ability. 

Ruiz is an improving game-caller behind the plate who flashes above-average receiving and blocking skills when he’s motivated. His above-average 55 grade arm strength is hampered by below-average accuracy, dropping it to a 50 grade arm.

Ruiz has the tools to be at least a solid defender but has some lapses behind the plate. He's agile, possesses soft hands and frames the ball well, but his receiving can get lackadaisical. He can flash solid arm strength but his accuracy wavers at times, and he threw out just 23 percent of base-stealers in his first three years of full-season ball. (Spring, 2020)

Ruiz is an excellent receiver with good, soft hands and quick feet. He receives the ball well. Ruiz’s defense lags behind his offense but is still advanced for his age and constantly improving. He shows good timing blocking balls, is an above-average—if sometimes inconsistent—receiver and has developed a knack for back-picking baserunners.

He has an average, accurate arm that occasionally gets slowed by footwork and transfer issues, but he made strides to clean those up and threw out a career-best 26 percent of basestealers 2018. Ruiz also became more confident handling a staff, from presenting game plans to pitchers to knowing when to take mound visits. (Kyle Glaser - BA Prospect Handbook - Spring, 2019)

Ruiz is working on blocking balls in the dirt. He displays an ability to handle both high velocity and breaking pitches.

Keibert has a 50 grade/average arm with a quick release. His throwing needs work. His arm strength is average, but an uncoordinated exchange and inconsistent footwork more often resulted in below-average pop times. (Spring, 2018)

In 2016, Ruiz only threw out 20 percent of runners.

In 2018, Keibert threw out 36 percent of Texas League runners trying to steal.

2018: According to FanGraphs, Ruiz’s catching mechanics are near perfect, and some scouts believe that he has the ability to competently handle duties behind the dish at the Major League level right now.

However, because of his age, his arm ranks about average when compared to the MLB standard, but that could certainly change as he matures. Still, his feet are amazingly quick, and all his throws consistently show outstanding accuracy.

Arm (50): Though Ruiz possesses average to solid arm strength, it doesn't always play that way because he lacks consistency with his throwing accuracy. He has erased just 23 percent of base-stealers in low Class A and above.

Field (55): Ruiz is agile behind the plate, displays soft hands and frames pitches well. His receiving can get lackadaisical at times, leading to 26 passed balls in 242 games in full-season leagues.  (Callis - mlb.com - 8/16/2020)

Oklahoma City manager Travis Barbary stressed that it isn’t only Ruiz’s bat that has impressed in 2021.  The young catcher has grown substantially in his work with his pitchers, too.

“Probably the biggest thing is just his preparation, as far as his catching, working with the pitching staff, game-planning, going over advance reports that we have on other teams,” Barbary said.  “He’s really diving into that and trying to get more comfortable with information that he’s going to be given in the big leagues and learning how to process that.  He’s been doing a great job.”

In July 2021, Oklahoma City pitchers boast the third-best team ERA in Triple-A West at 5.18.  Ruiz gets his share of the credit for that work, according to his skipper. 

“It’s actually been really neat to see his confidence grow, not only to understand the information and take it into a game and actually apply it, sitting down with pitchers in the dugout between innings, going over the guys that are coming up the next half-inning, formulating a plan,” Barbary said. 

“A lot of that, too, he’s a lot more comfortable communicating now with his English.  He’s worked so hard on that to be able to just communicate with the pitchers.  He’s become much more assertive behind the plate.  We forget that he’s still so young and learning to play the toughest position in the sport, in my opinion, and it’s just fun to watch him grow as a person and as a player.”  (Maun - mlb.com - 7/8/2021)

August 4-Sept 30, 2019: Ruiz was on the IL with a broken pinky finger, for the rest of the season. A foul tip fractured his right pinky finger.

July 15, 2020: Ruiz was on the IL after contracting COVID-19.

The 6-foot, 225-pound Ruiz had all of the familiar symptoms—a high fever, headache, loss of taste and smell. Thankfully, he didn't have to be hospitalized and did recover. But it delayed his arrival to summer camp, and he found himself at the alternate training site.

Sept 9, 2022: Ruiz was on the IL with testicular contusion.