Ríos was drafted in the first round (19th overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1999 MLB draft. A top prospect in the Blue Jays organization for several years, Ríos had considerable success in the organization\'s minor league system. In 2003 he hit .352 with 11 home runs and 82 RBIs en route to winning the Double-A Eastern League Most Valuable Player award. Ríos was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse for the start of the 2004 season and made the jump to the big leagues shortly thereafter.\n', '

He finished his rookie season with Toronto hitting .286 with one home run, 55 runs and 28 RBI in 111 games.\n', '

After his participation with the Puerto Rican team in the World Baseball Classic, Ríos began to show why the Blue Jays valued him so highly in his break-out 2006 season. By June 6, 2006, Ríos was 1st in the league in batting average (among qualified batters) with a .359 average, along with 11 home runs — a new personal best only 60 games into the 2006 season, and 43 RBIs. He then had his first multi-home run game on June 12, 2006, facing the Baltimore Orioles at the Rogers Centre. He was often given as an example of what is known in baseball as a "five-tool player".\n', '

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