Dodgers' Ruiz lands on injured list

A trek from Double-A to Triple-A to the Majors seemed like a distinct possibility for Keibert Ruiz.
That acceleration was put on hold Monday when the third-ranked Dodgers prospect was placed on the seven-day injured list retroactive to Sunday.

Ruiz last played Saturday for Triple-A Oklahoma City, going 1-for-4 with a run scored.
MLB.com's No. 36 overall prospect opened the season with Double-A Tulsa for a second consecutive year. Despite playing more than half of 2018 as a 19-year-old, Ruiz batted .268/.328/.401 with a career-high 12 homers in 101 games for the Drillers. He got off to a solid start in his return to the Texas League this season, but then batted .186 in June. Ruiz rebounded to hit .286 in 15 games last month prior to his promotion to Oklahoma City on July 21.
Later that night, Ruiz announced his presence with authority with a two-homer performance against San Antonio.
"I don't think we were too surprised at what he did," Oklahoma City manager Travis Barbary told MiLB.com after Ruiz's debut. "He's so far ahead of the game at his age and has been since we first brought him into the organization. He put together some great at-bats tonight, but the thing that stands out is he fits into any environment. He handles himself well and he's not in awe of any situation."

After leaving Tulsa with a .254/.329/.330 slash line across 76 games, the switch-hitting backstop has batted .316/.350/.474 with Oklahoma City. He's hit safely in all nine Pacific Coast League games he's appeared in and 12 straight going back to his final three Texas League contests.
Ruiz continues to show an innate ability to put the ball in play. He struck out 33 times in 377 at-bats in 2018 and improved upon that this season, fanning 22 times in 314 at-bats.
"His bat-to-ball skills are off the charts," Barbary said. "He doesn't swing and miss. It can be tough for a lot of young players, especially catchers. The game can get really quick but for Keibert, his heartbeat is the same all the time. ... I can't say enough about his growth and maturity as a player from when I first saw him."