Ed. Note: We're bringing back this feature this year, to keep an up-to-date look at the current Reds players. These will be in-depth profiles of the players we expect to make the Reds roster in 2013.
Fast Facts:
- Ryan Ludwick was born in Satellite Beach, Florida, but went to high school at Durango HS in Las Vegas, NV. Other famous Durango Trailblazers are NASCAR's Busch brothers and the yellow ranger from Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy.
- His brother Eric was a pitcher, and played for the Cardinals, A's, Marlins, and Blue Jays... and sported a career 8.28 ERA.
- Ludwick played 3 seasons at UNLV, OPSing 1.141 his junior year. This was good enough to get him drafted in the 2nd round by Oakland in the 1999 draft. The Reds' pick in that draft was Ben Broussard, who made the big leagues on his own. Other big-leaguers from his round include Carl Crawford, John Lackey, Ryan Doumit, and the guy who was drafted 3 picks ahead of him... Brandon Phillips.
- By the way, the Reds' 1st round pick in that draft was Ty Howington. The A's first round pick was Barry Zito, proving that Jim Bowden still had no idea what he was doing. Of course, former Red Josh Hamilton was the first overall pick.
- He shot up through the Oakland system pretty quickly, before getting traded to the Rangers in a 6-player deal where the most recognizable name was Carlos Pena. Also in that deal? Some guy who doesn't even play.
- He got traded again less than a year later, moving to the Indians, and then tooled around as a AAAA-caliber guy for a little while. He spent 2006 in AAA in the Tigers system, and the Cardinals took him on a whim in 2007, where something magically clicked at age 29.
- He thrived in St. Louis, obviously, and got traded once again in a deadline deal to the Padres (the deal that sent Jake Westbrook to Cleveland).
- He was not very good in San Diego.
- He was signed by the Reds before the 2012 season and had another career resurgence of sorts, posting a OPS+ of 128, his best year to date.
Organizational History:
Drafted/Signed: by the Oakland Athletics in the 2nd round of the 1999 amateur draft. Player signed July 17, 1999.
Traded: by the Oakland Athletics with Jason Hart, Gerald Laird and Mario Ramos to the Texas Rangers for Carlos Pena and Mike Venafro on January 14, 2002.
Traded: by the Texas Rangers to the Cleveland Indians for Ricardo Rodriguez and Shane Spencer on July 18, 2003.
Signed as Free Agent: by the Detroit Tigers on December 14, 2005.
Signed as Free Agent: by the St. Louis Cardinals on December 1, 2006.
Traded: as part of a 3-team trade by the St. Louis Cardinals to the San Diego Padres. The San Diego Padres sent Corey Kluber to the Cleveland Indians. The San Diego Padres sent Nick Greenwood (minors) to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cleveland Indians sent Jake Westbrook to the St. Louis Cardinals on July 31, 2010.
Traded: by the San Diego Padres to the Pittsburgh Pirates for player to be named or cash on July 31, 2011.
Signed as Free Agent: by the Cincinnati Reds on February 8, 2012.
Signed as Free Agent: by the Cincinnati Reds on December 10, 2012.
Contract Status:
MLB Service Time: 7.109
Current Contract Status: 2yr/$15M. ($1M in 2013, $7.5M in 2014, mutual option for 2015 for $9M ($4.5M buyout))
Career Stats:
Year | Age | Tm | G | PA | H | 2B | HR | RBI | SB | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | 23 | TEX | 23 | 88 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 2 | .235 | .295 | .346 | .641 | 66 |
2003 | 24 | TOT | 47 | 175 | 40 | 8 | 7 | 26 | 2 | .247 | .299 | .438 | .737 | 93 |
2003 | 24 | TEX | 8 | 30 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .154 | .267 | .192 | .459 | 20 |
2003 | 24 | CLE | 39 | 145 | 36 | 7 | 7 | 26 | 2 | .265 | .306 | .485 | .791 | 108 |
2004 | 25 | CLE | 15 | 54 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .220 | .278 | .380 | .658 | 74 |
2005 | 26 | CLE | 19 | 48 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | .220 | .333 | .512 | .846 | 125 |
2007 | 28 | STL | 120 | 339 | 81 | 22 | 14 | 52 | 4 | .267 | .339 | .479 | .818 | 110 |
2008 | 29 | STL | 152 | 617 | 161 | 40 | 37 | 113 | 4 | .299 | .375 | .591 | .966 | 151 |
2009 | 30 | STL | 139 | 542 | 129 | 20 | 22 | 97 | 4 | .265 | .329 | .447 | .775 | 105 |
2010 | 31 | TOT | 136 | 553 | 123 | 27 | 17 | 69 | 0 | .251 | .325 | .418 | .743 | 104 |
2010 | 31 | STL | 77 | 314 | 79 | 20 | 11 | 43 | 0 | .281 | .343 | .484 | .827 | 123 |
2010 | 31 | SDP | 59 | 239 | 44 | 7 | 6 | 26 | 0 | .211 | .301 | .330 | .631 | 78 |
2011 | 32 | TOT | 139 | 558 | 116 | 23 | 13 | 75 | 1 | .237 | .310 | .363 | .674 | 90 |
2011 | 32 | SDP | 101 | 425 | 90 | 18 | 11 | 64 | 1 | .238 | .301 | .373 | .674 | 90 |
2011 | 32 | PIT | 38 | 133 | 26 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 0 | .232 | .341 | .330 | .671 | 90 |
2012 | 33 | CIN | 125 | 472 | 116 | 28 | 26 | 80 | 0 | .275 | .346 | .531 | .877 | 128 |
10 Yrs | 915 | 3446 | 805 | 176 | 143 | 530 | 17 | .263 | .334 | .466 | .799 | 113 | ||
162 Game Avg. | 162 | 610 | 143 | 31 | 25 | 94 | 3 | .263 | .334 | .466 | .799 | 113 |
Scouting:
Ratings via TheBaseballCube:
Speed: 36
Contact: 23
Patience: 60
Batting: 49
Power: 82
This tells you most of what you need to know about Ryan Ludwick. He's pretty much a typical power hitter, but with above average plate discipline. If he makes contact, the ball usually goes far.
Defense:
Fans Scouting Report ratings (via Fangraphs) (2012 rating/career rating):
Instincts: 46/50
First Step: 43/49
Speed: 37/46
Hands: 51/53
Release: 43/49
Arm Strength: 38/55
Arm Accuracy: 41/56
Overall: 43/51
FSR (Fans Scouting Report runs above average): -2/-2
UZR/150 in 2012: -7.6
2013 Projections:
BATTING
G | PA | HR | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Steamer |
551 | 24 | 1 | .258 | .329 | .461 | |
ZiPS |
490 |
21 | 1 | .253 | .321 | .451 |
|
Oliver |
532 | 22 | 2 |
.254 | .333 | .453 | |
Bill James |
129 | 466 | 19 | 1 | .254 | .327 | .449 |