Introduction
Rio Noble Ruiz (born May 22, 1994) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was selected in the fourth round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft by the Houston Astros. Shortly before the start of the 2015 Major League Baseball season, Ruiz was traded to the Atlanta Braves.
Career
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.
Ruiz was drafted by the Houston Astros 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 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 Class 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 Class A-Advanced California 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 Atlanta's Double A affiliate in Mississippi, where he struggled. 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 Triple A Gwinnett Braves. 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 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.