Chances are that one week ago most Dodger fans living outside of Midland, Michigan – population 41,957 and home to the Dodgers Low Single-A affiliate Great Lakes Loons – had never heard the name Keibert Ruiz (pronounced “Kay-bear). Chances also are that after Monday night’s exciting come-from-behind 4-3 walk-off win by the Dodgers Advanced Single-A affiliate Rancho Cucamonga Quakes over the Stockton Ports (A’s), there are very few Dodger fans who now do not know who Keibert Ruiz is – at least among Dodger fans who follow the Dodgers other Southern California team; and let’s face it, why wouldn’t they?

Keibert, who was signed by the Dodgers as an international free agent out of his home town of Valencia, Venezuela – population 1,827,165 (in 2010) – on his 16th birthday in 2015 for a mere $140,000 signing bonus, became quickly known to Loons fans over the past few months because… well, he flat tore up the Midwest League with a remarkable slash-line of .317 / .372 / .423 for an impressive OPS of .795. He also slugged 16 doubles, one triple and two home runs while driving in 24 runs for the Dodgers Low-A affiliate. And in case you haven’t done the math yet, he did all of this as an 18 year old. But it is his defensive abilities as a catcher that earned Ruiz a promotion to the High-A Quakes a week ago Monday (July 10) … as an 18 year old.

“I think the thing that really impresses [about Ruiz] is his poise,” Quakes manager Drew Saylor said, after his young backstop had been with the team all of three days. “Being 18 in the California League – I think the league average is almost 23 years old right now – to even just think about that, a high school senior going up against a possible gray-shirt senior in college, that’s a huge jump. Just the poise, just the feel that he has a calmness about him, there’s not a lot of moments that go by that have sped up [for him]. It’s only been a short couple of days but just the poise he has shown has been incredible for me.”

…well, that and his .348 batting average, .400 on-base percentage, .783 slugging percentage for an insane 1.183 OPS – along with the two doubles, one triple, two home runs and six RBIs that the 6′-0″ / 200-pound switch-hitting young catcher has amassed in the six games in which he has appeared with the Quakes.

But without question, it was the three-run home run that Ruiz hit on Monday night with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning in front of a LoanMart Field crowd of 1,040 to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 walk-off win that, for all intents and purposes, formally introduced Dodger fans outside of Midland, Michigan – population 41,957 – to soon-to-be 19-year-old (on July 20) Keibert Jose Lugo Ruiz.

Ruiz tosses his bat aside after he was certain that his game-winning shot down the right field line in the bottom of the ninth inning stayed fair. It did, in spite of efforts by Ports catcher Argenis Raga to will it foul.
(Video capture courtesy of Steven Douglas – Dodgers-LowDown)

To be fair, Ruiz has already been on the radar of many Dodger fans for quite some time, and with good cause. Even at only 18 years old, he is already considered to be among the Dodgers top prospects at any level of the Dodgers farm system. In fact, True Blue LA’s David Hood has Ruiz ranked ninth among the Dodgers top-20 prospects at the midway point of the 2017 season; perhaps a bit lofty, but to even be included on this list says a great deal about a young prospect who has appeared in a grand total of 168 games over his brief two and a half-year minor league career.

At the risk of being redundant, Keibert Ruiz is definitely someone that every Dodger fan needs to keep a very close eye on over the next couple of seasons. This way, when he makes it to the big leagues – perhaps as a 20 or 21-year-old, you can tell your friends that you were on this kid from the beginning.

…just like those in Midland, Michigan – population 41,957.