In a matter of days the Washington Nationals catching corps received an influx of fresh talent. Three catchers were brought into the system at the trading deadline, and one has already appeared in the Major Leagues. When Riley Adams pinch hit in the second game of the Philadelphia Phillies series, he was the seventh catcher to appear for the Nats this year.
Granted, Adams hasn’t actually caught yet, though he will before too long. Seven catchers in one year! The arrival of the eighth is what Nationals fans will be greatly anticipating. Until Keibert Ruiz officially steps onto the field for the Nats, our eyes should be glued to Triple-A, watching and waiting as the catcher of the future continues to hone his skills.
With Tres Barrera handling the majority of the innings at the big league level, the Nationals called upon Adams (who was acquired in the Brad Hand trade) instead of Ruiz because they wanted Keibert to be playing every day.
Nationals catcher of the future, Kiebert Ruiz, makes organizational debut at Triple-A.
Ruiz, along with Josiah Gray, were the main returns in the Max Scherzer/Trea Turner trade. While some will debate whether the Nationals received enough for their Cy Young pitcher and (perceived) shortstop of the future, there is no debating the excitement revolving around Ruiz.
As the big league team fell into a 4-0 hole against the Phillies and tried to fight their way back, Nat fans Twitter was sprinkled with Ruiz and his exploits in the minors.
In the third here in Rochester: Not sure Keibert Ruiz realized the runner was trying to seal at first, then made such a strong throw that it didn’t matter. Someone in the crowd says, “Kid’s got a gun.”
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) August 3, 2021
Keibert Ruiz behind the plate pic.twitter.com/iQy5WTfcwy
— Kev (@OnePursuitTakes) August 3, 2021
keibert ruiz homered!!
— Chris McKinney (@chrismck89) August 4, 2021
The final line for Ruiz was one hit in four at-bats, with the hit being his 17th home run of the Triple-A season, first of course with the Nationals organization.
After a strong Josiah Gray debut at the beginning of the week, and an exciting effort put forth by Ruiz in his debut, the future does seem to look bright for the Nationals. Throw in Cade Cavalli and Jackson Rutledge, and the Nationals pitcher/catcher battery could be one of the most productive in the league down the line.
Losing Scherzer and Turner was awful, there is no denying that. Having the enjoyment of anticipating the future with Gray and Ruiz, is helping make life a little easier. Until we get Ruiz in DC, I’m sure we’ll have a vested interest in what takes place down on the farm in Rochester.