Trivia question, who was the player to be named later in the Mark Hendrickson / Toby Hall trade? Here's a few hints;
He was an Aggie
Plays RF
Bats right and throws right
any guesses? If you said Justin Ruggiano then your right. The 24 year old Biscuit RF was the 'throw' in along with Jae Seo and Dioner Navarro the the deal that went down earlier this season. Seo has pitched well for the most part with just a lack of run support, Navarro has had a few big moments with the bat, and has been good with the glove, along with winning a lot of fans other with his hustle on bunts. Ruggiano on the other hand has went pretty much unnoticed.
Since coming over he has a .295 BA, 3 homers, and 10 RBIs. Though those numbers are nothing especially special, for a throw in he's been decent if not good. A .421 OBP, and a 639 slugging make for a OPS of over a 1.000, a very impressive feat.
His ability to draw walks has become his strength, stop me if you've heard this before. I'm of course talking about players like Ben Zobrist and Dioner Navarro, two young players we have dealt for this season. Of course I'm not saying that Ruggiano will reach the majors and start, that's almost an impossible task considering he has a few prospects ahead and behind him with batter bats in Sergio Pedroza and some guy named Delmon.
But it becomes clear that a guy like Ruggiano could become a bench player who can step in on occasion and not cause damage to your lineup, drawing walks and being patient are two things that almost always carry over from the minors to the big leagues, unlike such novelities as homeruns.
This has became part of the new DRO theory on position players, a delicate mix of speed, power, and average will eventually lead to a formable if not dominating lineup. Apparently however this theory has been lost on one ESPN.com writer, you know who I'm talking about, the one who thinks the Rays don't care about walks or plate discpline. I take it he's never heard of Zobrist, Navarro, or Ruggiano. Anyhow remember Ruggiano, you'll be seeing more of his type throughout our system for years to come.