Ryan Rua Stats & Scouting Report

AB	696
AVG	.236
OBP	.289
SLG	.382
HR	23

Full name Ryan Anthony Rua
Born 03/11/1990 in Amherst, OH
Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 205 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Lake Erie College
Debut 08/29/2014
Drafted in the 17th round (534th overall) by the Texas Rangers in 2011.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

An afterthought as a 17th-round pick out of Lake Erie College, an NCAA Division II school in Ohio, Rua got attention when he hit 32 home runs, mostly in low Class A, as a 23-year-old in 2013. He continued to rake at the upper levels in 2014, spending the last month of the season in Texas. Rua is an offensive-oriented prospect who has plus power and can take the ball out of the park to all fields. He starts his swing with a leg kick, keeps his weight back and his head still. Rua can get long to the ball, with some concerns about his ability to hit good offspeed pitches, but his swing is fluid, and he squares up the ball frequently. Rua has mostly played third base, but with Adrian Beltre stationed there in Texas, the Rangers played Rua in left field and at first base. He's surprisingly athletic for his body type, though he's a below-average runner and adequate-at-best defender wherever he goes, making the routine plays at third base with an average arm. Rua is major league ready. His easiest path to regular playing time is in left field, where he should get an opportunity to play at least semi-regularly in 2015, though the Rangers could also use him as a bat-first fill-in on the four corners.
Assigned to a low Class A Hickory team loaded with toolsy, swing-happy hitters in 2013, Rua stood out for his mature hitting approach, which should be expected from a 23-year-old in the South Atlantic League. Even with a hitter-friendly park in Hickory, Rua's breakout performance and 29 home runs there were a surprise, so the Rangers jumped him to Double-A Frisco in August. Added weight and strength in the offseason helped Rua, who showed plus raw power and hit home runs to all fields. He has solid plate discipline and did a better job last year of staying back and using his hands in his swing, though he still gets long to the ball sometimes. After playing primarily third base his first two seasons, Rua transitioned well to second base at Hickory before sliding back to third at the end of the year with Rougned Odor at second in Frisco. Rua is a below-average runner and doesn't have much range, but he's reliable when a ball is hit to him and has an average arm. His path to the majors may require him to spend time at second, third, the corner outfield spots and perhaps first base in an offensive-oriented utility role. He's headed back to Frisco for 2014.

Minor League Top Prospects

Rua looked overmatched when he made the leap from low Class A Hickory to Frisco late last season. That was hardly case in 2014, when he was voted the league's best batting prospect, advanced to Triple-A Round Rock by late June and earned a callup to Texas in September, where he started in left field and at first base. Rua uses a simple and fluid stroke to drive the ball with sneaky power to all fields. He has plenty of raw power but it doesn't always show up in games. "It's just a smooth swing," Frisco manager Jason Wood said. "He has a soft and easy leg kick, then it's head down through the point of contact. It never looks like he is trying to speed anything up." Rua looks the part of a power-hitting third baseman, which was his primary position at Frisco this season, and has enough arm and range to the stay there. He has proven his versatility by also playing second base and the corner outfield adequately, though he's an average runner at best.