2017 was great. 2018 was not. 2019 was great. 2020 will be…?
- Born: September 7, 1999
- B/T: R/R
- 6’0″, 188-lbs
- Drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 1st round of the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft from Leadership Christian Academy (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico)
The Numbers
His raw numbers are listed above courtesy of baseball-reference.com. Let’s aggregate by year then focus on the important numbers for minor leaguers:
One of these things is not like the other; one of these things just doesn’t belong…
After setting the world afire in 2017 Rookie ball, Heliot Ramos went backwards in 2018 A-ball. Of course, as an 18-year-old playing with guys three or four years older than him, and in his first full professional season, perhaps we can be encouraged that he improved his strikeout rate while maintaining his walk rate.
And the power in 2018 wasn’t that bad.
Then came two levels higher in 2019, and it was right back to where he was two years ago (well, not all the way back, but you get the idea). Big power, on-base ability, kept the strikeouts from being 2017 bad, improved his walk rate.
One thing has become clear: he ain’t going to be a stolen base source. A handful a year perhaps.
In Class A Advanced, he hit righties better. In Double-A, he hit lefties better. Nothing to worry about.
Look at all those home runs! And to all fields. A fairly balanced chart. But you know what would be interesting? Let’s break out his struggling 2018 and his bounce back 2019:
Aha! This looks more like a pull hitter. That’s what happens when you struggle at the plate.
Now we are back to balanced. Shows you how struggles show up visually.
Here we see the struggles visually a different way. In 2017 he was in the stratosphere. In 2018 he began well, then dove to low depths and struggled to get his head above the .800 OPS level, and mostly failed.
Then in 2018 he leaped above .800 and soared to new heights. If 2018 only occasionally saw him put up acceptable numbers, 2019 saw him only occasionally put up unacceptable numbers.
The Scouts
- Rotowire: #70 on their Top 400.
- BaseballHQ: #38 on their Top 100.
- Fangraphs: #68 on their Top 120.
- Fantasy Six Pack: #271 on their dynasty list.
- Prospects365: #77 on Ray Butler’s Top 200.
- Imaginary Brick Wall: #49 on the Top 487.
- Fantrax: #74 on the Top 250.
Warnings
Late in 2019 he reached AA and hit a wall. Will he bounce back this year?
How bad will his strikeouts get at the upper levels?
Conclusion
He’s a Top 100 talent, and the power is real. Defensively he seems perfect for right field, and it seems clear to me that he has a future in the majors. With his strikeout issue, he might only be a .250 hitter, but with his walk rate he should be OK in OBP leagues (and in real life). With 30+ HR power, you’d live with .250-.260.