RUIZ SHOWING DISCIPLINE AT PLATE

Truth be told, the Padres were not all that concerned that they’d lose Esteury Ruiz in the since-canceled Rule 5 draft after leaving him off the 40-man roster over the winter. He lost a month to injury before truly getting his feet under him last summer at Double-a San Antonio and then finished on a cold spell. As intriguing as his raw tools are, the Padres also know better than most how difficult it is to stash a position player as a Rule 5 draftee.

Chances are they won’t get off so easy this offseason if he’s not on the 40-man roster.

Not after his start to 2022. The 23-year-old Dominican has reached base in 31 straight games dating back to the end of last season. His blistering start to this year includes mashing five home runs, swiping 17 bases and hitting .341/.517/.625 to start a repeat stint with the Missions, a development that follows the same path as Jose Azocar as he jumped from the Double-a Texas League to Triple-a El Paso last year and all the way to the majors this season: Master the strike zone.

“The biggest thing is he saw what happened with his buddy Jose Azocar,” Missions manager Phillip Wellman said. “All we did was hammer his chase rate and strike zone discipline and Jose lowered his chase rate tremendously and now so has Esteury. He’s not afraid to walk because if he walks he’s going to steal second and probably third and put himself in a good position to score.

“And when he gets his pitch he’s not missing it.”

Padres officials point toward Missions hitting coach Raul Padron for getting both Azocar and now Ruiz to buy in, the latter cutting his chase rate from 29.8 percent in 2021 to 19.7 percent through 24 games, according to data supplied by Baseball America.

“That’s hard to do,” Padres farm director Ryley Westman said. “It’s like asking a pitcher who throws 85 to throw 95. When you swing at a lot of stuff, you tend to swing at a lot of stuff.”

The improved discipline is allowing Ruiz, a prospect acquired in the deal that brought Matt Strahm to San Diego in July 2017, to finally provide the encore many projected when he drew comparisons to a young Alfonso Soriano as he paired 49 steals with 12 homers in his first full season of pro ball in the low Single-a Midwest League in 2018.

Ruiz hit .253/.324/.403 that year, .239/.300/.357 the following year in the high Single-a California League and .249/.328/.411 for the Missions in 2021 after losing 2020 to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Along the way, Ruiz transitioned from a middle infielder with throwing issues to a full-time center fielder where he can show off 60grade speed as every bit the tool it is on the bases as he’s improved his routes and reads. While getting on base more than 50 percent of the time is not sustainable, what he’s doing now that he’s on base more often — and walking (21) almost as often as he’s striking out (22) — certainly is.

“He’s just locked in right now,” Wellman said. “The last thing a team wants to do is walk him because they know what’s coming after. He can f ly.”

Around the farm

El Paso (AAA): LHP Ryan Weathers struck out four and allowed just one run on three hits and two walks in a season-high seven innings on Wednesday to earn his first win of the season. The start lowered his ERA to 5.63 through his first 24 innings. He has struck out 15 against 12 walks.

Fort Wayne (A+): RHP Efrain Contreras walked three batters and allowed a run in an inning of work on Friday in his first appearance since 2019. He lost all of 2020 to the pandemic and the 2021 season to Tommy John surgery.

Lake Elsinore (A): OF James Wood, who’d missed nearly two weeks with a wrist injury before returning to action late last month, landed on the injured list Friday with more issues with his wrist.