Ruta can contribute in a lot of different areas.
Usually the better offensive prospects are derived from the higher round draft selections, especially ones at the upper minor league levels. However Ben Ruta, a 30th round pick out of college back in 2016, is coming off of his second straight solid season and he’s pushing the envelope with his rising prospect status.
He followed up his .300, eight home run season in 2018 with another solid .260, eight home run showing in Double-A Trenton this year, swiping 25 more bases and setting a career high with 47 walks with the Thunder.
“I felt like overall this year was a success for me,” Ruta said. “I started off blazing hot and then struggled for a couple of months, and then finished the year strong. We went through the playoffs and won that which was nice.
“Going through a period of where you’re really hot and then going through a period of where you’re really cold is valuable in a way. You learn how to handle things when they’re going amazing and how to handle things when seemingly nothing is going your way. You can implement that next year so you can stay more consistent. If you go on a cold streak you can get out of it faster.”
It’s true, he ran a little hot and cold over the course of the season. For example, he batted a robust .386 with a 1.051 OPS in the month of April but hit just .202 with a .557 OPS [which matched his slugging percentage in April] in July. It was that kind of roller coaster season for the former Wagner University product.
“You’re always going to run into patches of bad luck and you’ll also run into patches of good luck. I was happy with my preparation throughout the season. It stayed consistent. I can’t really have any regrets there. Just a little mechanically I got awry in June and July, and I was able to find [the swing] again. That was a valuable experience.
“I watched a lot of video with the hitting coordinators and hitting coaches. We pinpointed a couple of [small] things. My routine didn’t change but a couple of actions on the field with my swing were just slightly changing. It wasn’t a big noticeable thing so you have to dive into the video. Now it’s kind of like ‘if this is being caused by this’ I know it so if I go through similar results I can fix it faster now.”
The ups and downs of the season aside, overall it was yet another solid offensive showing for the second consecutive season and he says he also made marked improvements on his already solid defensive game too.
“I’m a pretty precise route runner and I can cover a good amount of ground just based on my jumps and it’s allowed me to play centerfield, right field, and left field, and not skip a beat. My main improvement this past year was I worked with the [coaches] to work on balls over my head which was definitely a struggle. Those are some of the toughest to get to because you have to take your eye of the ball and get running, and I vastly improved in that aspect. That’s kind of the last piece to the [defensive] puzzle.
“I think I just need to make small improvements in each aspect of the game. I want to keep getting better stealing bases. Two years ago I had more volume on the bases but this year I had a little less steals but also less caught stealings so I had a better percentage, which I like.
‘I’d like to improve on that, defensively keep working on balls over my head, jumps, routes, everything, and then hitting keep trying to keep getting the most out of my body, drive the ball without my strengths which is spraying the ball over the field and putting the ball in play. I don’t view myself as a guy who is going to hit 30-40 home runs a year in the bigs so I have to put the ball in play and stick to my strengths as a player.”
Now Double-A tested and approved, the next logical step is moving up to Triple-A and from there landing in the Bronx would not be too far ahead either.
“That’s why we’re playing the game,” he said. “I definitely feel like I can compete in the bigs right now and that’s the goal for next year, to make my debut. I feel like I’m an all-around player where I can contribute offensively, play all three outfield spots, definitely contribute base running-wise, and I can handle the bat. It’s just a matter of being consistent and some breaks have to go your way, and hopefully it all works out next year.”
To help expedite any potential ‘breaks’ going his way, Ruta is once again hard at work behind the scenes. He’s out to prove his last two seasons were not a fluke.
“I’m down in Tampa and will be here all offseason,” he revealed. “I’ll be working with the coaches all offseason and I’ve done that the past two years, and I’ve seen good results all year. I’m excited to keep building on that and trusting them with my development.
“I’m lifting full-go. I’m in a four-week lifting and running program down here. I’m trying to keep my speed up, get a little stronger, and work on some explosion stuff.”
He doesn’t feel like his game has peaked at all yet but he also feels like he’s cemented himself as one of the better prospects in the farm system too.
“I definitely am happy with the way I’ve been playing and I’ve definitely been pushing the envelope a little bit but I try not to worry about prospect status or what other people label you as. You’ve got enough to worry about when you’re playing but coming from a 30th round pick the fact of the matter is you don’t have as many chances as some other guys so you kind of have to perform right away when you get that chance and I was fortunate enough to get that chance two years and start in Trenton. I did well and it kind of snowballed from there, and just stayed consistent.
“Now more chances are coming my way. That’s been happening my whole life – 30th round or in college I didn’t have any scholarship offers, just kind of went to Wagner, played hard, worked hard, and it worked out. I’m familiar with positions like that and I’m comfortable with having to prove myself,” he concluded.