Dodgers: Yusniel Díaz and Keibert Ruiz to Play in the Futures Game

The Dodgers have one more game left in the first half on Sunday, but the all-star festivities will kick off Sunday with the futures game.

The Dodgers will finish off both the freeway series and their first half of the 2018 regular season today.  While the MLB all-star festivities begin tomorrow with the home run derby, the futures game will be played later on this evening.

In the 2017 futures game, the Dodgers were represented by Alex Verdugo and Yadier Alvarez.  The Dodgers have two prospects playing for the World team this year in Yusniel Diaz and Keibert Ruiz.  Keibert Ruiz is currently the Dodgers’ second-ranked prospect, and Yusniel Diaz checks in as the fourth best prospect in the Dodgers system.

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Keibert Ruiz is a name that has come up plenty of times in trade talks with other teams.  One of the rumors that came up recently with Ruiz is that the Orioles were targeting him in a potential Manny Machado trade, but that the Dodgers were not going to trade him away for a rental.  Ruiz is known as a strong defensive catcher who handles himself well behind the plate and has a strong throwing arm.

This season Keibert Ruiz has spent the season with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers and he has hit nine home runs to go along with a .247 average and a .390 slugging percentage.  Ruiz is still very young as he is 19 years old and will turn twenty years old in the next week.  Like current Dodger Yasmani Grandal, Keibert Ruiz is a switch hitter although he is more of a line drive gap to gap hitter rather than a power hitter.

The other Dodger prospect representing the Dodgers in the futures game is the toolsy Yusniel Diaz.  This season at Double-A Tulsa, Diaz has hit .314 with six homers and eight stolen bases.  While Yusniel Diaz is not going to be a plus power threat, he is projected to be a 10-15 home runs a season type of player who offers speed, defense, and a strong arm.

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Like fellow Cuban Yasiel Puig, Yusniel Diaz can play centerfield but he works better as a corner outfielder with a plus throwing arm.  In the major leagues, Diaz is projected to play left or right fielder.  Diaz is still working to harness all of his raw baseball skills, but he should be ready for the majors towards the middle of the 2019 regular season.