Justin Ruggiano, OF

[Fritz]

Frisaro seems to be inferring things that Guillen doesn't really say in the quote
--------------------
Oh, it wasn't Frisaro

it was Tom Green, whoever that is

He made Freddy Got Fingered.

[HUGG]

I have no doubt he'll be back. He's cost-controlled.
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Ruggiano, that is.

Fritz's Tom Green's career is over.

[Miamarlin21]

I don't see any reason to not keep him. It's not like he's going to be making good money next year.

[Ramp]

Baseball Prospectus:

Justin Ruggiano is having one of the league’s most surprising seasons. He entered Sunday with 245 plate appearances, a .324 batting average, and strikeouts in 25.3 percent of his plate appearances. Intuitively, we all know striking out more than a quarter of the time makes it tough to be a productive hitter, and nearly impossible to post a high average. Yet Ruggiano is angling to join an exclusive club of players with more than 250 plate appearances in a season, a strikeout rate above 25 percent, and a batting average of .300 or better:

For fantasy and trivial purposes, the table below shows how those players hit the next year:

Were Ruggiano to follow the trend, he would not hit .300 again. He would, however, hit better than his .226 career mark entering this season.

[HUGG]

I think most of us think he's gonna suck next season.

He's earned the chance to find out though.

[Beef]

it quite literally says it

That's not quite literal at all.

[dim]

I think most of us think he's gonna suck next season.

He's earned the chance to find out though.

Pretty much how I feel. It feels more likely than not that Ruggiano will bomb next season, but it's extremely hard to deny a starting spot to what has been one of our top three hitters this season.

[Erick]

I don't think he's going to suck next season.

[Anonymous]

I don't think he's going to suck next season.

Me either. I think he's going to be another Cody Ross caliber player.

[Valid]

His BABIP this season is an insane .404. I expect a fairly significant dropoff in 2013.

[emkayseven]

he gon suck

[nny]

Those saying Cody Ross 2.0 are on the nail imo

Both are bad BB/K guys who make up with it for power. Ruggy probably has a little less power but a little better job in BABIP. Both are lefty mashers that are average/below average against righties but you still run them out there because of good defense/every day ABs for when lhp come around. Mid .30 BB/K, high .100/low .200 ISO, low .300 BABIP, high 700 OPS player with good defense...yeah, that's Ross 2.0

And not exactly useful in terms of comparison of future output (But fun none the less): Ross did hit .335/.411/.653 in his first full year as a Marlin, very similar to Rugg's first year.

[lou]

Those saying Cody Ross 2.0 are on the nail imo

Both are bad BB/K guys who make up with it for power. Ruggy probably has a little less power but a little better job in BABIP. Both are lefty mashers that are average/below average against righties but you still run them out there because of good defense/every day ABs for when lhp come around. Mid .30 BB/K, high .100/low .200 ISO, low .300 BABIP, high 700 OPS player with good defense...yeah, that's Ross 2.0

And not exactly useful in terms of comparison of future output (But fun none the less): Ross did hit .335/.411/.653 in his first full year as a Marlin, very similar to Rugg's first year.

Yep. He will adequately cover LF or CF next year, and in a realistic world, will be the 4th OF in 2014+ and come in for Morrison or Yelich against lefties in a 400 PA kind off player. He's pretty perfect for that role and will be cheap for at least 3 seasons even through arbitration.

I just don't want them to ignore CF just because he's doing well. Please get a longterm CF this offseason.

[emkayseven]

you know they will, because his slash line looks good and they don't know what a BABIP is

[emkayseven]

MIAMI -- After Emilio Bonifacio went on the disabled list with a sprained thumb in late May, the Marlins went looking for outfield depth. They found a motivated 30-year-old who was seeking a break.

The hookup has turned into a perfect fit. In an otherwise rough year for Miami, Justin Ruggiano has offered production and promise.

Able to play all three outfield spots, Ruggiano has become a regular in either center field or left. In 84 games, he's hit for average (.318), and power (13 homers), and shown some flash on defense, making several standout plays.

Ruggiano has also made himself part of the Marlins' plans for 2013, either as a starter or an extra outfielder.

"Now he's got confidence," Miami manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Now he knows he can play in the big leagues. Now he knows he can help people at the big league level. That helps. You create confidence and make it a little easier to play the game."

Drafted by the Dodgers out of Texas A&M in the 25th round in 2004, Ruggiano has seen enough in his professional career not to take anything for granted.

In 2006, he was dealt to Tampa Bay, and he made his Major League debut a year later. The Rays, however, were loaded with outfield depth, so Ruggiano saw limited playing time (98 total games) in big league stints in parts of 2007, '08 and '11.

"I don't think anything in this game is for sure," the outfielder said. "I'm hoping I can come back here. I'd actually love to stay with the team for the rest of my career, if that's a possibility. I don't make those decisions."

Ruggiano's numbers right now are doing his talking. He's under club control for next year, and the team has every intention of keeping him on its 40-man roster heading into Spring Training.

It's a different situation from this year, when he was caught in a numbers game in the Rays' system. Tampa Bay designated Ruggiano for assignment on Jan. 27, and he declined the assignment three days later, becoming a free agent.

The Marlins had interest then, but the Texas native wanted to be closer to home. So he signed a Minor League contract with the Astros that included an invitation to Spring Training. Ruggiano didn't make Houston's Opening Day roster, and he started off at Triple-A Oklahoma City.

The Marlins still kept tabs on him, and on May 26, they pulled off a low-profile trade that has given them a big return. Miami acquired Ruggiano that day from the Astros for Class A catcher Jobduan Morales. A day later, the Marlins purchased his contract and brought him up to the big leagues.

Miami was seeking outfield help because Bonifacio went on the disabled list on May 20 with a sprained left thumb. The speedster didn't return until July 13, the first game after the All-Star break. By then, Ruggiano had established himself, earning plenty of playing time.

"All I know is this year has given me new hope, new life," Ruggiano said. "It's kind of re-invigorated me for the offseason and how I go about my offseason training, and certain areas I need to work on."

In spacious Marlins Park, Ruggiano has shown he can play a solid center field, as well as left field. Although he can play right field, Giancarlo Stanton has that position anchored.

After the season, Ruggiano hopes the Marlins give him an indication of their plans for next year. Do they want him more in center or left?

"If playing center field is what they want me to do, then maybe I should slim down a little bit," Ruggiano said.

Wherever he is playing, the Marlins don't want to limit his power. Ruggiano's 13 homers are second to Stanton's 34 on the Miami roster.

Throughout his years in the Minor Leagues, Ruggiano looked for an opportunity to have regular playing time. He spoke about that a few years ago with his father, wondering what he could do with steady action.

"Conversations between me and my dad were like, 'I'd love to see what I could do on a regular basis,' " he said. "Just getting an opportunity. It hadn't happened until now."

http://miami.marlins.mlb.com/news/ar...s_mia&c_id=mia

God how depressing is that home run stat