Rio Ruiz

Rio Noble Ruiz (born May 22, 1994) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, and Colorado Rockies, and in the KBO League for the LG Twins. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft by the Houston Astros. In 2015, Ruiz was traded to the Atlanta, with whom he made his major league debut during the 2016 season.

Ruiz attended Bishop Amat Memorial High School in La Puente, California. He played both baseball and football. Ruiz verbally committed to attend the University of Southern California (USC) as a 14-year-old freshman to play college baseball for the USC Trojans baseball team. As a junior, he was named The San Gabriel Valley Tribune's Baseball Player of the Year. Considered a potential first round pick in the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft entering his senior season, he missed most of the year due to a blood clot in his right clavicle.

The Houston Astros selected Ruiz in the fourth round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Astros for $1.85 million over playing college baseball at USC. He made his professional debut that season for the rookie–level Gulf Coast Astros and also played for the Greeneville Astros of the Rookie-level Appalachian League. He finished his first season hitting .252/.336/.400 and one home run in 38 games.

In 2013, Ruiz played for the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Single–A Midwest League. He played in 114 games and hit .260/.335/.430 with 12 home runs. Ruiz spent the 2014 season with the Lancaster JetHawks of the High–A California League. After the regular season, the Astros assigned Ruiz to the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League.

The Astros traded Ruiz, Andrew Thurman, and Mike Foltynewicz to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Evan Gattis and James Hoyt on January 14, 2015. He was assigned to the Mississippi Braves of the Double–A Southern League, where he struggled.^{[clarification needed]} Despite inconsistent results in Ruiz's first year with the Braves organization, he was invited to spring training in 2016 and began the season with the Gwinnett Braves of the Triple–A International League. He hit for a .271 batting average and a .755 on-base plus slugging percentage at the Triple A level, to go along with ten home runs and 62 runs batted in.

The Braves promoted Ruiz to the major leagues for the first time on September 17, 2016. The next day, he was announced as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of a game against the Washington Nationals, but was unable to make a plate appearance before the contest was called due to rain. Ruiz tripled for his first major league hit on September 28, against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Frank Herrmann.

Before reporting to spring training in 2017, Ruiz sought help from Azusa Pacific University track coach Kevin Reid, who aided Ruiz in improving his agility and conditioning. Ruiz began the 2017 season with Gwinnett and was promoted to the major leagues on May 18. On May 20, 2017, Ruiz hit his first major league home run off Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer. Ruiz started the 2018 season at Gwinnett.

The Baltimore Orioles claimed Ruiz off waivers on December 10, 2018. On August 11, 2019, Ruiz hit his first career walk-off home run off Roberto Osuna of the Houston Astros. He finished the 2019 season with a .232 average, 12 home runs and 46 RBI in 370 at–bats.