Phillies vs. Nationals Monday MLB injury report, odds: Top prospect Keibert Ruiz to make Washington debut; JT Realmuto in doubt for Philly
Some mixed news on starting catchers for the Phillies-Nationals game on Monday.
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The Washington Nationals have little to play for the rest of the way other than pride, but a potential big part of their future will be on display for the first time Monday in touted catching prospect Keibert Ruiz. He'll be in the starting lineup against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies, who likely will be without their All-Star catcher, JT Realmuto, due to injury. The Phils are still solid favorites at Caesars Sportsbook.
MLB.com ranks Ruiz as the No. 19 overall prospect in the sport and No. 2 catcher. The 23-year-old Venezuelan was the key piece back from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Max Scherzer/Trea Turner deal at the Trade Deadline last month. In 20 games with Washington's Triple-A affiliate at Rochester, Ruiz, a switch-hitter, slashed .308/.365/.577 with five home runs and 14 RBIs. He did get a combined 15 big-league at-bats for the Dodgers between this season and last and is 3-for-15 with two solo homers.
The other big piece the Nats got in that Dodgers trade was pitcher Josiah Gray (0-1, 3.75) and he's on the mound Monday. In five starts with Washington, Gray is 0-1 with a 2.89 ERA in 28 innings. His Nats debut was against the Phillies on Aug. 2, and he allowed an earned run over five innings.
Philadelphia is still in the NL East race, 4.5 games back of first-place Atlanta. The Braves are -550 favorites at Caesars to win it with the Phillies at +475. Philly recently lost slugging first baseman Rhys Hoskins to a season-ending injury, and Realmuto (.264, 14 HRs, 58 RBIs), already dealing with a sore shoulder, left Sunday's win over Arizona after rolling his left ankle during a fifth inning at-bat. For now, he's being called day-to-day. The Phillies are very thin at that position with just three catchers on their 40-man roster and one of those, Andrew Knapp, on the COVID list.
It's ace Zack Wheeler (10-9, 2.90) on the mound for Philadelphia; he's +550 to win the NL Cy Young. Following a complete-game shutout of the Mets on Aug. 8, Wheeler jumped into the favored role for the Cy but has allowed 17 runs combined over his past three starts, all losses, to fall back. The right-hander is 1-3 with a 4.11 ERA in five starts this year against the Nats.
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