Ruf going to the show….

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Several sources are reporting Sunday evening that Reading 1B/OF Darin Ruf , 26, will be added to the 40 man roster and called up to join the Phillies on Monday.

Ruf, the well publicized Eastern League HR and RBI king will get the well deserved call to see what he can do at the major league level.  I wont say anymore as it has all been said already and I am sure said again in the comment section below.

71 thoughts on “Ruf going to the show….”

  2. He earned it. Going into this season, a Sept. callup for Ruf seemed highly unlikely, as did his being added to the 40-man.

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    1. Luna’s spot was filled when they called up Pete Orr. However there are several people who can get moved to the 60-day DL to create room: Polanco, Worley, Stutes, and probably Galvis and Schneider.

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  8. It will be very interesting to see if they start him in LF or wait and give him a start at 1b at some point and just ph until then. Congrats!!!

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    1. I’d like to see them give him the start at 1st base tomorrow and let him debut in the position he’s most comfortable in before shifting him to left.

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  11. Seeing that Howard is playing both games today and there is a LHP starting for Miami tomorrow, I could see him starting at 1B Monday.

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  12. So, since players weren’t going to be called up until their playoffs were over, does this mean that the Eastern playoffs are over and Reading lost?

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      1. If the Phillies are serious about getting to the playoffs (kind of a big if, but whatever), you have to figure the ideal lineup is Howard at first, Mayberry in center, Nate in RF and Brown in left.

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  14. Will be interesting to see if Ruf gets a start tomorrow vs LeBlanc (who career wise has reverse splits, and all 4 HR allowed this year are vs. lhb); and also more so how he’s managed with Phils WC door ever so slightly opened. I think if a righty gets a start tomorrow it’s Wiggington at 1b, and Ruf only gets ph until (if) the door closes completely (by next Sunday we will know how real the WC chance is).

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  15. I know playoff spot is unlikely, but playing Ruf is no longer as easy of a call. The Phils are playing well now and still in the WC race. Do you really audition a guy in this present situation? He might get some ab’s but I personally would not disrupt thing too much until the phils falter and are more fully out of it.

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    1. Gotta see if this guy can play. The likely hood of the Phillies making the playoffs is slim (I’d love to see it and I’m not saying they won’t).

      The likely hood of them fielding a contending team next year is very high and they need to find out if this guy can help them as a bench piece (RH Laynce Nix) or as a starting LF.

      I think Charlie’s a good enough manager to understand what he needs to do to keep the Phillies winning.

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  16. I say play him regardless, he could play decent and help us sneak into the wildcard he doesn’t have to be a negative.

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    1. Can they bring Cody Asche up also if Kevin Frandsen can’t play? I get sick watching Michael Martinez attempt to bat although he plays a solid 3B defensively.

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      1. No point in wasting the 40 man spot. It seems like the plan is to use 3b as the primary pinch hitting/double switch position with Martinez, Orr, and Fransden. It isn’t pretty but with the larger bench they can lessen the offensive black hole.

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        1. Matt, the only reason I brought up bringing Cody Asche up is that the Orioles gamble with Machado(spelling) has worked so far for them. Myself and a few other posters would gladly drive Martinez to the airport if needed.

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          1. Machado is in a whole different category, he is in that tier behind harper and trout right next to Profar. This has nothing to do with Martinez and more to do with the choice being Asche now but exposing someone like Collier or JRod, or waiting till the spring and evaluating Aache then and exposing no one unneedlu

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          2. Manny Machado was the #3 overall pick in 2010. Machado is an elite prospect. Cody Asche was a 4th round pick who nobody here really talked about until he got hot this season.

            You only have 40 spots for your roster, so you have to juggle which players to give them to. Giving a spot to somebody who’s not ready could expose somebody else to the rule 5 draft.

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            1. While I don’t disagree with you on Machado, 4th round picks do become superstars… see Ryan Howard (who is no longer said super star).

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            2. Let’s not go throughall of this again, Howardwas a first round talent that slipped due to injury induced performance issues

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  18. It would not surprise me one bit if Charlie starts Ruf at 1st base against the lefty to give Howard a day off after playing a double header.

    Against Lefties in 2012, Ruf is hitting:
    .392 Avg
    .480 OBP
    .845 SLG
    1.325 OPS
    19 HR

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        1. Cloyd will pitch Thurs on 3 days rest, assuming they are still hanging on in the wc race. If they aren’t, it will be a bullpen game.

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        2. The bullpen is much different now, you have 3-4 more pitchers out there then you did before so you don’t need to leave someone out there to just soak up innings. Also the quality has gone up as it looks like DeFratus and Aumont are comfortable out there. So if Cloyd can 3-4 innings they can take care of it like they did last night.

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  22. I don’t post here too often, but am an avid reader.

    Anyway, I was having a hard time digesting the Michael Vick horror show, so I put my two youngest boys in the car at halftime and we drove an hour or so south to Trenton to get a taste of the Ruf excitement.

    We parked behind home plate and the Babe did not disappoint. His HR was an absolute bomb. Cleared the 30-40 foot wall that surrounds the outfield, cleared the whole damn stadium. I’m pretty sure the ball went out to Route 29. It was a serious moon shot.

    Next time up, he hit one to the base of the wall that was caught. Unlucky in his final AB to scald one to the SS that started the game-ending DP. But that just got Ruf to the Show more quickly!

    As for the other prospects, they looked pretty good. Morgan had one inning where he gave up a HR and a couple of other hits for 3 runs, but was otherwise solid. I’m sure his arm was ready for the offseason. Gillies was very impressive at the plate, on the basepaths and in the OF. I think he’s ready to challenge for the CF spot on the big club in the spring if he keeps the hammies healthy and stays out of trouble. Joseph sure looks the part of young stud catcher, is very smooth behind the plate.

    I know nobody believes in the whole “protection” thing when it comes to the lineup, but I have to believe it helped Asche adjust to AA ball. I watched one sequence very closely in the middle innings when Asche came up with 2 outs, 2 runners on and Reading down a couple of runs. Asche worked a full count. The Thunder starter, lefty Nik Taylor, did not want to put Asche on and face Ruf with the sacks full. I kept saying “he’s coming in, Cody!” before each of the next three or four pitches in succession. All fastballs, all getting significant pieces of the plate. Asche fouled them off before grounding out to shortstop. Was a little disappointed that Asche didn’t drive one out to RF in that situation, but it was a lefty-on-lefty matchup.

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  24. Question for Matt Winks or anyone who thinks the Phils are at risk of losing anything of value to Rule 5. Please explain. When I do the figuring the guys I see them exposing (whether Asche is added to the 40 man roster or not) are guys like Joe Savery and Michael Martinez. I just can’t picture these as the kind of guys any other team would covet and if they did, so what?

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    1. I think everyone is already considering guys like Savery and Martinez being exposed or cut. But there was a list somewhere else of guys who will be left exposed if not put on the 40 like: May, Martin, Ruf, Pettibone, J-Rod, Collier, Castro. To name a few. You can debate some of the merits of considering those guys prospects but there are a lot of names that you don’t necessarily want to expose if you don’t have to.

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    2. People rag on Michael Martinez, but he is what he is: a utility guy that makes peanuts. Again, he’s only playing because Frandsen is hurt. Yes, Freddy Galvis can do a better job than him, but pretty sure the Phillies have higher expectations for Freddy than being a better MiniMart. You need guys like Michael Martinez on the team. He fills in here and there, he’s making nothing, and Manuel is not worried about giving him ABs.

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      1. You need guys like Michael Martinez on your AAA ball club.

        He makes nothing. Yes, that’s true. He also does virtually nothing on the baseball field.

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        1. If the Reds can carry Wilson Valdez, the Phillies can surely carry Michael Martinez. Trust me, we’re not the only team with under performing bench guys. As it has been mentioned ad nauseum, Michael Martinez is not the reason why the Phillies are under .500.

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          1. The bench up until the AAA guys came in certainly is. Martinez has proved he has NOTHING to offer.
            But I do see your logic “since some one else is stupid that allows the Phils to ge even more stupid”

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        2. Did you guys know the Blue Jays are carrying 45 year old Omar Vizquel as a bench guy and he’s getting spot starts? That team is out of it, why is Vizquel playing?

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    3. We went through the 40 man a bit ago. To make room for Asche you either have to make him the starting third baseman going forward or you have to DFA someone like Rosenberg, Schwimmer, or Horst who are all useful pitchers who have value. All for a couple week audition which would replace his trip to the AFL

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      1. The easy solution is to take a pitcher like Rosenberg, nearing his prime and unlikely to make the 25 man roster, and flip him to another team for a non-40 man roster player.

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          1. Agreed, he is not ready right now, giving guys a look just to do it is not part of the development strategy. It is different for Ruf because if he isn’t ready now to do something there really isn’t a lot of time for him to get better

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          2. +1 … I like Asche a lot, but he’s already come so far just this year. He’s been pushed far enough, the AFL will offer a challenge and either way, I’m sure he’ll be called up for spring training next year (though won’t make the team without setting the world on fire and even then I would be suprised).

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  25. Darin Ruf not in the starting line up tonight, your starting LF is Ty Wigginton, which doesn’t make a ton of sense to me both offensively and defensively

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    1. It’s a shame that he doesn’t get the start at 1st. Ruf has to be better against lefties than Howard (.596OPS).

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    3. It’s really hard to blame Charlie when every game is a must win. The unknown commodity isn’t necessarily your friend. I think he will start Ruf though and you will probably even see him pinch hit tonight.

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  26. Cholly says he wanted to let him get settled in the first day, shagged balls in left took BP (no homers), also took grounders at first… Manuel also indicted after what he’s seen he has no hesitation in starting Ruf at LF even with the possibility of a playoff chance still.

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