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Heliot Ramos

California Notes: Ramos, Detmers, Edwards

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Heliot Ramos has been battling a right thumb injury for the last week, telling reporters (including Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle) that the discomfort has factored into his lack of production over the Giants’ last few days.  The thumb issue forced him to make an early exit from the Giants’ 6-4 loss to the Reds on Saturday and Ramos also didn’t play in today’s game.  The outfielder is day to day for now, though since the Giants’ next off-day isn’t until August 16, the club might be forced into a 10-day injured list placement for Ramos if the swelling doesn’t come down.

A longtime staple of top-100 prospect lists, Ramos didn’t show much in limited MLB action in 2022-23, but he has fully broken out after San Francisco called him back up to the Show in early May.  Ramos is hitting .285/.344/.491 with 15 home runs in 320 plate appearances, and this production earned him a spot on the NL All-Star roster.  Ramos’ emergence has helped keep the Giants in the playoff race, so missing him for any amount of time (IL placement or not) is a blow to the lineup.

More from three of the Golden State’s teams…

  • Reid Detmers posted a 6.19 ERA over his first nine Triple-A outings since he was optioned to the majors at the start of June, and the tough stretch continued when he allowed six runs in 3 2/3 IP in a start today with Triple-A Salt Lake.  Prior to today’s game, Angels pitching coach Barry Enright told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that he felt Detmers’ slider and his mentality on the mound had been showing improvement, but it isn’t yet known if Detmers’ latest result might lead to at least one more tune-up outing rather than a promotion back to the majors.  Detmers also had a 6.14 ERA in 63 big league innings this season, after solid results in 2022-23 had seemingly established him as a key piece of the Angels’ rotation.  As Fletcher notes, if the Angels didn’t call Detmers back up until August 20, the team would lock in an extra year of control over Detmers.  The southpaw therefore wouldn’t have enough MLB service time to qualify for free agency until after the 2028 season.  While this is certainly a factor in whatever decision Los Angeles makes about Detmers’ development, it can be argued that the Angels have justifiable reason to keep Detmers in the minors, given his struggles.
  • The Padres signed Carl Edwards Jr. to a minor league contract last month, and Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the veteran reliever is taking a new step in his career by working as a starting pitcher.  The right-hander has a 4.91 ERA over 22 innings and six starts, throwing at least four innings and 80 pitches in each of his last three games.  Edwards began his minor league career as a starter, but he started just one minor league game from 2015-23, and never started any of his 295 career games or rarely even went beyond a single inning of work.  As he approaches his 33rd birthday in September, Edwards’ ability to now work as a starter (or at least as a bulk pitcher or long reliever) could add a new wrinkle to his career, and provide the Padres with some unexpected rotation depth.

Giants Place Jorge Soler On Injured List

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The Giants put designated hitter Jorge Soler on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 5, due to a shoulder strain. San Francisco recalled Heliot Ramos from Triple-A Sacramento to take the open roster spot. Ramos is in tonight’s lineup as the DH against Colorado righty Peter Lambert.

Soler inked a three-year, $42MM free agent deal in the middle of February. San Francisco hoped he’d add a needed power presence to the middle of the lineup after hitting 36 homers for the Marlins last season. That isn’t how things have played out thus far. While Soler is tied for the team lead with five home runs, he’s hitting .202/.294/.361 through 136 plate appearances overall. He fell into a particularly poor stretch in the week and a half leading up to the injury. Soler has just three hits in his last 10 games.

It’s not clear how long he’ll be out of action. The Giants could rotate a few players through the DH spot in his absence. Wilmer Flores got a couple starts there while Soler was day-to-day. Ramos, 24, should also get some run now that he’s back in the majors. The former first-round pick has seen his stock fall in recent years because of continued strikeout issues in the upper minors. He’s out to a strong start in Sacramento, though, hitting eight homers with a .296/.388/.565 slash over 134 trips. He’s still striking out at an elevated 27.6% clip, but he’s drawing walks and hitting for power.

While the Giants lose one of their biggest offseason pickups, they could welcome back another in the near future. Blake Snell has been out since April 23 with an adductor strain. The defending NL Cy Young winner will throw a bullpen session tomorrow and is scheduled for a rehab start at Low-A San Jose this weekend, tweets Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Snell has struggled over his first three starts with the Giants. The left-hander has surrendered 15 runs through 11 2/3 innings. He has fanned 12 but allowed 18 hits and issued five walks.

Giants Activate Brandon Crawford From 10-Day IL

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The Giants have activated shortstop Brandon Crawford from the 10-day IL ahead of the club’s season finale against the Dodgers this afternoon, as noted by Maria I. Guaradado of MLB.com. Outfielder Heliot Ramos was optioned in the corresponding move. Crawford will bat leadoff and start at shortstop in today’s game at Oracle Park.

Crawford’s appearance today could well be his final one as a Giant. The bay area native was a fourth-round pick by San Francisco in the 2008 draft and has been a staple of the franchise ever since he made his debut in 2011. A three-time All Star, Crawford has won World Series championships with the Giants in 2012 and 2014. He’s a four-time Gold Glove award winner and added a Silver Slugger award to his mantle back in 2015. He was one of the club’s top players as recently as 2021, when he slashed .298/.373/.522 in 138 games en route to a fourth place finish in NL MVP voting, behind only Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, and Fernando Tatis Jr. as the Giants won 107 games to capture the NL West crown.

Unfortunately, things have taken a turn for the worse in 2023 as Crawford has struggled with both injuries and ineffectiveness. He’s made four trips to the injured list this year, and when healthy enough to take the field has slashed .197/.276/.319 with a career-high 25% strikeout rate in 316 trips to the plate. That figures to limit interest in his services this offseason, particularly as he’ll turn 37 before Spring Training 2024. Further complicating matters is Crawford’s previously indicated desire to end his career in a Giants uniform. Top infield prospect Marco Luciano made his big league debut earlier this season, and the 22-year-old youngster figures to get first crack at the club’s starting shortstop job next year with Crawford no longer under contract.

Whether or not today marks the end of Crawford’s time in San Francisco, it’s been a phenomenal run. Over 13 seasons with the Giants, Crawford has slashed .250/.319/.396 while playing superlative defense at shortstop. He’s collected 1,392 hits, 290 doubles, and 146 home runs across his 1,653 games suited up for the Giants.

As for Ramos, the 24-year-old outfielder’s season comes to a close with just 57 trips to the plate in the big leagues, during which he hit a paltry .186/.246/.321. In 263 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level, Ramos posted far more respectable numbers, with a .300/.382/.546 slash line in 263 trips to the plate while logging time at all three outfield spots.

Giants Promote Kyle Harrison

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August 22: The Giants have now made this official, selecting Harrison and reinstating righty Ryan Walker from the paternity list. To open active roster spots, right-hander Sean Hjelle and outfielder Heliot Ramos were optioned. To open a 40-man spot for Harrison, infielder Mark Mathias was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Mathias was placed on the injured list a week ago due to a right shoulder strain. He’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from August 14, which rules him out until the middle of October. Barring a lengthy postseason run by the Giants, it seems his season is over.

August 20, 3:58 pm: Giants manager Gabe Kapler confirmed to reporters, including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, that Harrison was poised to be promoted. He’ll start the Giants’ game against the Phillies in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

10:14 am: The Giants are calling up top pitching prospect Kyle Harrison, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports (via X).  Earlier today, the Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly wrote that San Francisco was “strongly considering” promoting Harrison during an upcoming series with the Phillies, and Murray says that Harrison is being aimed to start Tuesday’s game.  San Francisco will need to make another transaction before then to create a 40-man roster spot for the left-hander.

The promotion makes for a nice late birthday gift for Harrison, who turned 22 on August 12.  It is quite possible that the southpaw would have already made his MLB debut if it wasn’t for a hamstring strain that put him on the injured list for almost all of July, but after pitching in three Triple-A games since his return from the minor league IL, Harrison has been deemed ready for his first taste of the Show.

It doesn’t seem as though Harrison will be taking on a full-fledged starter role, as Baggarly notes that Harrison might work in more of a piggyback capacity on Tuesday, perhaps not throwing more than 3-4 innings.  Harrison has had a limited workload for much of the minor league season, as he has topped the 80-pitch threshold only three times and has only once thrown as many as five innings in a single outing.

With this in mind, Harrison looks to become the latest member of a patchwork Giants rotation that has recently featured only two regular starters.  Beyond Logan Webb and Alex Cobb, a group led by Jakob Junis, Alex Wood, Sean Manaea, and Ross Stripling have made limited starts, piggyback outings, or have worked as bulk pitchers behind an opener.  This collection took a hit yesterday when Stripling was placed on the 15-day IL due to a back strain, and Sean Hjelle was recalled from Triple-A to work as a long reliever or bulk pitcher.

It’s not an ideal situation for a team fighting for a wild card berth, so there will be a bit of a bigger spotlight than usual on Harrison as he becomes a big leaguer.  However, Harrison has dealt with plenty of hype as his prospect stock has risen over the last few years, since being selected by the Giants in the third round of the 2020 draft.  In recent midseason updates to their prospect rankings, MLB Pipeline listed Harrison as the 20th-best prospect in the sport, while Baseball America slotted him 35th on their latest listing.

There’s no secret about Harrison’s biggest weak point, as he has a hefty 16.3% walk rate over 67 2/3 innings with Triple-A Sacramento this year.  This shaky control (and pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League) has contributed to Harrison’s 4.52 ERA, though he also has a tremendous 35.6% strikeout rate.

Both Pipeline and BA give Harrison a 70-grade for his fastball and a 60-grade for his slider, and he also has a good changeup that is still improving.  Two plus pitches and the possibility of a third has created plenty of buzz about Harrison as a possible front-of-the-rotation starter, though the big question is naturally whether or not Harrison can improve his control and command.  As Pipeline’s scouting report puts it, Harrison is “still learning to harness his enhanced stuff, though his ability to miss bats in the strike zone with all three of his offerings means that he doesn’t need to locate them with precision.”

However the Giants opt to manage Harrison’s workload among the rest of the pitchers, it seems likely that the club will limit him to less than 50 innings in the regular season, so he can retain his rookie eligibility for 2024.  As per the rules of the Prospect Promotion Incentive, the Giants can receive a bonus pick in the 2025 draft if Harrison earns a full year of MLB service time in 2024, and he either wins the NL Rookie of the Year award or has a top-three finish in NL Cy Young voting during any of his pre-arbitration seasons.  Harrison must be ranked as a top-100 prospect by at least two of MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, or ESPN.com in their pre-2024 lists to fully qualify as a PPI-eligible player, thought that seems like a foregone conclusion.

Beyond the 50-inning threshold, pitchers also have to have less than 46 days on a Major League roster to retain rookie eligibility.  That date on the 2023 league calendar passed last week, so it isn’t surprising that Harrison and other notable prospects like the Reds’ Noelvi Marte, the Cardinals’ Masyn Winn, and the Angels’ Nolan Schanuel have all been called up within the last few days alone.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Giants Place Cole Waites On 60-Day Injured List

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The Giants placed reliever Cole Waites on the 60-day injured list this afternoon. He’s dealing with a sprain in his throwing elbow, tweets Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. To take the open 40-man roster spot, outfielder Heliot Ramos was reinstated from a 60-day IL stint of his own and optioned to Triple-A Sacramento.

Waites, 25, has made three appearances for San Francisco this season. He debuted with seven games late last season. He’s allowed seven runs in his first eight MLB innings. Waites has spent the majority of the year on optional assignment to Triple-A, where he’s been tagged for a 6.16 ERA across 30 2/3 frames. The righty has walked nearly 19% of batters faced in the minors this year.

The club didn’t provide specifics on Waites’ return timetable, though his season could be in jeopardy. He’ll be out until at least mid-September. The only silver lining is that he’ll be paid at the prorated $720K MLB minimum rate and collect service for time spent on the major league injured list.

Ramos missed two months with an oblique strain. The former first-round pick has appeared in nine MLB contests in each of the past two seasons. Before the injury, he’d been off to a strong start in Triple-A. Ramos was hitting .314/.368/.589 in 27 contests for the River Cats early in the year.

Giants Select Patrick Bailey, Designate Cal Stevenson

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The Giants announced a flurry of roster moves Friday, headlined by their selection of catcher Patrick Bailey’s contract from Triple-A Sacramento. San Francisco also selected the contract of righty Ryan Walker, designated outfielder Cal Stevenson for assignment and placed both catcher Joey Bart (groin strain) and right-hander Ross Stripling (back strain) on the 10-day and 15-day injured lists. Stevenson’s DFA opens one 40-man roster spot for Bailey, and a second was opened by recalling outfielder Heliot Ramos from Sacramento and placing him on the Major League 60-day injured list with a strained right oblique.

Bailey, 23, was the Giants’ top pick in the 2020 draft, coming off the board with the No. 13 overall selection. He had a decent debut campaign in their system a year later, batting a combined .265/.366/.429 across the Giants’ Rookie-ball, Low-A and High-A affiliates. He struggled at the final of those three stops (.185/.290/.296), but Bailey returned to High-A in 2022 and posted an improved .225/.342/.419 output. It still wasn’t a great showing, but the Giants moved him up to Double-A in 2023 anyhow, and he responded with a .333/.400/.481 slash in 14 games before being promoted again to Triple-A.

Bailey’s bat has again struggled following that quick promotion, but he’ll be aggressively promoted even further now that Bart is sidelined with an injury. Baseball America ranked him 27th among Giants farmhands heading into the season, lauding his defensive aptitude — specifically his receiving and blocking skills (though he also sports a strong 31% caught-stealing rate in the minors). The switch-hitting Bailey has struggled mightily from the right side of the dish in pro ball, hitting below .200 with just two of his 25 career home runs coming from that side of the dish.

Walker, 27, was the Giants’ 31st-rounder back in 2018. He’s never ranked among the organization’s top prospects but has steadily posted above-average numbers throughout his minor league tenure. He opened the 2023 season in Sacramento — his second Triple-A stint — and has come roaring out of the gates with 20 1/3 innings of 0.89 ERA ball. He’s punched out 31.1% of his opponents this season, has induced grounders at a 50% clip and has yet to surrender a home run. His 10.8% walk rate is higher than the Giants would like to see, but command hasn’t been a recurring issue, as evidenced by a career 7.7% walk rate in parts of five pro seasons.

The Giants acquired the 26-year-old Stevenson from the A’s in exchange for cash earlier this year and called him up to the big leagues when Mike Yastrzemski hit the injured list. He’s gone hitless in 12 plate appearances and is now a .145/.259/.188 hitter in a still-small sample of 83 Major League plate appearances. Stevenson’s track record in Triple-A is far, far better. He’s appeared in 101 games at the top minor league level and turned in a .271/.382/.386 line with seven homers while going 21-for-26 in stolen bases and walking nearly as often as he’s punched out (15% vs. 18.2%). He’s primarily been a center fielder but has experience in both corners. The Giants have a week to trade him or attempt to pass him through outright waivers.

As for the slate of injuries announced by San Francisco, none had been heavily foreshadowed. Bart suited up behind the plate for the Giants’ most recent game — his eighth start at catcher in nine games — and went 1-for-3. He’s hitting just .237/.286/.295 on the season and has yet to solidify himself as the franchise catcher the organization envisioned when selecting him with the No. 2 overall pick back in 2018. Bailey’s ascension to the big leagues could put extra pressure on Bart, who’s in his final minor league option year in 2023.

Stripling signed a two-year, $25MM deal over the winter — one that allows him to opt back into free agency at season’s end. His early performance with the Giants makes that overwhelmingly unlikely. In 32 1/3 frames, the right-hander has been torched for a 7.24 ERA, thanks largely to a stunning 10 home runs surrendered in that time. Stripling excelled with the Blue Jays in 2022, pitching to a 3.01 ERA across 134 1/3 frames and allowing just 12 home runs in that time. It’s not clear at this time whether his back has been troubling him throughout the season, though that would certainly explain some of the right-hander’s astronomical downturn.

Ramos, meanwhile, had gone on the minor league injured list a bit more than a week ago, though there’d been no indication he was looking at an absence of this length. The former first-round pick (No. 19 overall in 2017) has struggled badly in 18 big league games dating back to last season, slashing just .152/.205/.196 in 49 trips to the plate. He hasn’t yet found his stride in Triple-A either, batting a combined .244/.313/.367 in a very hitter-friendly setting. He’s been a bit better so far in 2023, batting .262/.333/.385 in 75 plate appearances there, but his generally lackluster minor league performance has begun to obfuscate his long-term role with the club.

Giants Activate Joc Pederson From 10-Day Injured List

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The Giants activated outfielder/DH Joc Pederson from the 10-day injured list, with Heliot Ramos optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.  Pederson was expected to return today, as he’ll end up missing only one day beyond his minimum 10-day absence.

A bout of right wrist inflammation sidelined Pederson, but fortunately it looks like the injury was pretty minor in nature.  Pederson will now return to the lineup and hope to build on a quality start to the season, as the slugger hit .242/.350/.545 with two homers over his first 40 plate appearances of 2023.

The Giants have been using Pederson exclusively as a designated hitter, and he’ll continue to get the bulk of DH at-bats for the remainder of the season (with a few looks as a corner outfielder and perhaps at first base as circumstances dictate).  Darin Ruf and Michael Conforto have been getting most of the DH time in Pederson’s absence, but they will likely return to the first base and outfield duty respectively.  Of course, the Giants are prone to mixing and matching even their regular starters based on matchups, so a right-handed batter like Ruf is probably likely to spell a lefty bat like Pederson or Conforto if a southpaw is on the mound.

This is Pederson’s second year in San Francisco, after hitting .274/.353/.521 with 23 homers over 433 PA in 2022.  Pederson was a free agent last winter but instead opted for the one-year windfall of the qualifying offer, as he accepted the Giants’ QO and locked in a $19.65MM salary for the current season.

Giants Place Jakob Junis On 15-Day IL Due To Left Hamstring Strain

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3:57PM: Junis has been diagnosed with a more serious Grade 2 strain, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reports (Twitter link).

3:08PM: The Giants placed right-hander Jakob Junis on the 15-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain.  The injury occurred in last night’s game, as Junis had to be removed after slipping off the mound.  Outfielder Heliot Ramos has been called up from Triple-A to take Junis’ spot on the active roster.

More will be known about Junis’ recovery timeline once he undergoes an MRI, but the injury is obviously serious enough that the Giants went ahead with the IL placement even before more tests were conducted on the hamstring.  Junis will now miss at least the next 15 days, and potentially longer should the strain prove to be a higher-grade issue.

After signing a one-year, $1.75MM free agent deal with San Francisco in March, Junis has seemingly become the latest pitcher to enjoy a career revival in the Bay Area.  Junis posted a 5.36 ERA over 240 innings with the Royals from 2019-21, but has thus far pitched to a 2.63 ERA, 47.8% grounder rate, and a 5.3% walk rate over 48 frames in 2022.  Advanced metrics (particularly a .231 BABIP, and a .266 wOBA that is far beneath his .325 xwOBA) indicate that some regression is probably inevitable, but it has nevertheless been a very solid start in terms of bottom-line numbers for the 29-year-old Junis.

This performance has helped stabilize a Giants rotation hurt by injuries, as Alex Cobb and Anthony DeSclafani are both still on the IL and Matthew Boyd has yet to pitch this season.  On that front (hat tip to MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado), Cobb still just in the playing-catch phase as he recovers from a neck strain, while DeSclafani is set to begin a rehab assignment.  DeSclafani was moved to the 60-day IL due to ankle inflammation, and can’t be activated until June 21.  Boyd underwent flexor tendon surgery back in September and has advanced to the point where he will be facing hitters in a live batting-practice session.

Sam Long was already added to the roster to help out the rotation, and since the Giants have an off-day on June 16, they might be able to manage this lack of a fifth starter until DeSclafani is able to be reinstated.  If not, the Giants could turn to a bullpen game, as is the plan for today’s game against the Dodgers.

Giants To Place Steven Duggar On IL, Likely To Select Luis Gonzalez

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Giants center fielder Steven Duggar left yesterday’s game against the Mets in the second inning after feeling soreness in his left oblique area. After the game, manager Gabe Kapler indicated Duggar was likely to wind up on the injured list, a sentiment echoed by president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi.

During an appearance on KNBR radio in San Francisco (h/t to KNBR’s Danny Emerman), Zaidi said Duggar was headed for an MRI today but conceded early indications are “that’s an injury that usually puts a guy on the sidelines for a few weeks.” It’s not uncommon for oblique strains to require a month or more of recovery. The team will know more about the severity of Duggar’s injury and be able to provide a more specific timetable for his return once the imaging results come back.

Duggar has been San Francisco’s primary center fielder this season, starting 11 of their first 13 games. Like many of his teammates, the 28-year-old had a quietly solid showing in 2021, when he hit .257/.330/.437 with eight homers and seven stolen bases over 297 plate appearances. That offensive production was reliant on a probably unsustainable .355 batting average on balls in play, though, with Duggar’s 29.6% strikeout rate and 73.4% contact percentage raising questions about his ability to continue producing at an above-average level.

The Giants were confident enough in his abilities not to bring in external center field help this past offseason. Duggar had gotten off to a slow start to the year, collecting just seven hits in 36 at-bats with two walks and 16 strikeouts. His efforts to work through that rough stretch will be put on hold, with the Giants looking for other options to cover the position in his absence.

The immediate replacement seems as if it’ll be Luis González, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports (on Twitter) the Giants are planning to select González onto the big league club. San Francisco claimed the 26-year-old off release waivers from the White Sox last August. González was on the minor league injured list at the time, and the Giants stashed him on the major league 60-day IL for the remainder of the season. By doing so, they added a player whom Baseball America had named a top 15 prospect in the Chicago farm system each year from 2018-21. That required paying him an MLB salary for the season’s final couple weeks, but the Giants evidently valued him enough to do so if it meant bringing him to the organization.

San Francisco non-tendered González at the start of the offseason, when teams are required to activate players from the IL and carry them on the 40-man roster. They quickly brought him back on a minor league deal, and he’s gotten off to a .283/.389/.500 start in 11 games with Triple-A Sacramento.

González only has nine games of big league experience under his belt, but he’s a .267/.346/.416 hitter in the minors. He can cover all three outfield spots and adds a left-handed bat to replace the lefty-swinging Duggar. The healthy center field options on San Francisco’s 40-man roster — Austin Slater, Luke Williams, Mauricio Dubón and prospect Heliot Ramos — all hit right-handed, and Zaidi spoke on KNBR about his desire to get another left-handed option in the mix for Kapler. The lefty-hitting LaMonte Wade Jr. is on the IL due to left knee inflammation; he’s set to begin a rehab assignment with Sacramento today, and the team won’t reinstate him earlier than anticipated in response to Duggar’s injury (via Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic).

The Giants’ baseball ops leader also downplayed the possibility of recalling Ramos, who tallied seven plate appearances over four games during his first call-up earlier this season. “It was great seeing him up earlier, but not sure we want to bring him up to be in sort of a part-time role,” Zaidi said of the 22-year-old. “I think the next time he comes up, we want him to be in a situation where he can get everyday at-bats.”

For now, it seems the Giants are content to rotate a few players through center field based on match-ups. González isn’t yet on the 40-man roster, so there’ll be another move forthcoming to accommodate his selection.

Giants Promote Heliot Ramos

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12:03PM: The Giants have officially announced the move.  Right-hander John Brebbia has been placed on the bereavement list to create a 40-man roster space.

8:12AM: The Giants are promoting outfield prospect Heliot Ramos to the big leagues, as initially reported by Munger English Sports Management (Ramos’ agency).  Ramos is expected to make his debut today for the Giants’ game against the Marlins.

With southpaw Trevor Rogers scheduled to start for Miami, the right-handed hitting Ramos is a logical fit for tonight’s lineup, and perhaps for throughout the season given the left-handed tilt of the Giants outfield.  Mike Yastrzemski, Joc Pederson, Steven Duggar, and the currently-injured LaMonte Wade Jr. all swing from the left side, though San Francisco also has Darin Ruf, Austin Slater, Mauricio Dubon, and Luke Williams as available right-handed bats.  Utilityman Williams might end up being the odd man out to make room for Ramos, as Williams still has three minor league options.

The 22-year-old Ramos has long been seen as one of the Giants’ best prospects, and he has been a regular on top-100 rankings since he was selected 19th overall in the 2017 draft.  His stock has somewhat dropped as a result of not playing in 2020, and then a 2021 campaign that saw Ramos hit a modest .254/.323/.417 over 495 combined plate appearances at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.  Still, The Athletic’s Keith Law rated Ramos 70th on his preseason top-100 list,  Baseball America had Ramos in the 94th spot, and Fangraphs has Ramos ranked 101st.

Ramos only just turned 22 in September, and BA’s scouting report notes that Ramos has made his way up the minor league ladder “usually as one of the younger players at every stop.”  Along the way, Ramos has shown glimpses of his potential, if there is some master-of-none aspect to his performance.  As Fangraphs’ report puts it, “while it’s easy to call him a five-tool player since he’s competent in every aspect of the game, scouts struggle to figure out what Ramos’ one carrying tool is.”

At the plate, Ramos has hit .270/.340/.448 over 1625 PA in the minors, with 47 homers and 41 steals (out of 64 attempts).  He has also struck out in 440 of those at-bats, and evaluators note that his swing lacks some loft, and that Ramos has looked a little susceptible to off-speed pitches.  Ramos is expected to eventually move to right field due to his relative lack of top-tier speed and his good throwing arm, but Ramos has mostly played as a center fielder throughout his career and has looked decent up the middle.  The Giants are probably likely to use Ramos primarily in center, though he has the flexibility to play at any of the three outfield positions based on situations.

Ramos hit well in the small sample sizes of Spring Training (10 PA) and the early stages of the Triple-A season (13 PA).  While he didn’t break camp with the team, his quick promotion means that Ramos should still clock a full year of service time should he remain on San Francisco’s active roster for the remainder of the season.  The newly-instituted Prospect Promotion Incentive could also somewhat mitigate the Giants’ service-time concerns, though Ramos may technically not qualify.  As per The Athletic’s Evan Drellich, prospects are PPI eligible if they “are included in two or more of the preseason top-100 prospect lists put out by Baseball America, MLB.com or ESPN,” and of those three specific outlets, Ramos only cracked BA’s list.

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