Several prospects in the Cincinnati Reds farm system got out to tough starts in April and have rebounded well since the calendar flipped, but none of them have been quite as good as Ruben Ibarra has since the start of May.
Ruben Ibarra played in 19 games for Daytona in April and he had 12 hits in 70 at-bats. In no game did he have multiple hits. Overall he hit just .171/.244/.200. He had just two doubles as his lone extra-base hits. It was a very tough start for the first baseman.
But for as much as he struggled in April, he has succeeded ever since. The San Jose State graduate has played in 23 games since May began and he’s hit .400/.500/.771 with five doubles, seven home runs, 20 RBI, and he’s walked 11 times with 21 strikeouts. He is currently riding an 8-game hitting streak and the last five of those games have all included multiple hits. On Sunday he hit two home runs in the first game of the Tortugas doubleheader (he didn’t play in the second game).
Part of his hitting streak has led to him being named as the Florida State League Player of the Week for last week. The 2021 4th round pick hit .600/.600/1.200 with 10 RBI, three doubles, and three home runs en route to earning the honor. But that wasn’t even the best news of the week for Ibarra. Chris Boyle, who covers the Tortugas as a part of the USA Today Network, reported that Ibarra is being promoted to High-A Dayton.
As he exits the Florida State League he ranks 4th in OPS, 5th in average, 7th in slugging, 9th in home runs, and 10th in on-base percentage.
Ruben Ibarra isn’t the only Daytona Tortugas standout right now. Owen Holt has been downright filthy out of the Tortugas bullpen. The right-handed reliever has thrown 19.1 innings and allowed just one earned run this season. That’s a 0.47 ERA for those keeping track at home.
One of the biggest ways he’s kept runs off of the board is by keeping the ball in the ballpark. Holt has yet to give up a home run on the season. In fact, he’s only given up 12 hits this year and all but one of them have been singles. The other one was a double that he allowed back on April 23rd.
His fastball has been working in the 92-94 MPH range this season and has touched 95. There’s some cutting action to the pitch according to the metrics from Hawkeye. He has also mixed in a change up and slider – both that work in the low-to-mid 80’s.