Brad Martens / SF Giants
GOODYEAR, Ariz. — With each ball that went in Heliot Ramos’ direction — whether off the hand of an opposing pitcher or the bat of an opposing hitter — the Giants’ prized prospect cranked up the excitement at Goodyear Ballpark.
Usually that was positive, a couple times negative, but the excitement meter was set to full-blast.
The 21-year-old former first-round pick had a monster, roller-coaster day in the Giants’ 9-4, eight-inning win over the Reds on Sunday, which featured a pair of blasts and a pair of trips. (That’s TR in your score cards.)
Let’s start with the encouraging. Ramos did not look like a player who has only played 25 games above High-A ball and who missed an entire year’s worth of minor league reps while stowed away at the alternate site last season.
Facing two-time All-Star Sean Doolittle, Ramos searched for something middle-away — a huge focus of his has been tunneling pitches and laying off the rest — and saw a hanging breaking ball in that spot. He pounced and sent it over the left-field wall.
“I just go pitch by pitch and not think about who’s on the mound,” said Ramos, who is not easily intimidated. “Just look for my pitch and hit it.”
Simple enough. Facing a second lefty, Cincinnati’s Reiver Sanmartin in the seventh, the Puerto Rico native was looking about the same spot. The ball went there, and then the ball rocketed the other way, comfortably clearing the right-field fence and providing a peek at legitimate power that will only grow.
Heliot Ramos with home run No. 2 on the day ? pic.twitter.com/jVu2Z3flc2
— KNBR (@KNBR) March 7, 2021
Ramos has made it clear that he wants to debut this year — of course, he has said he wanted to debut when he was drafted in 2017, too — and is putting pressure, with his play if not his words, for the Giants to make it happen sooner rather than later.
“Every day I go out there to prove myself and to work hard and play hard,” Ramos said.
Gabe Kapler did not say there is no path for Ramos to break camp with the big-league team, but he strongly suggested it.
“As with all of our minor league prospects and just kind of talking through — generally speaking — we want them to get as much experience as they possibly can so that when they get to the big leagues, they’re prepared for any and all situations,” the manager said over Zoom. “We obviously never rule anything out, and at the same time, we believe strongly in a good deal of player development at the minor league level.”
The Giants may have a need in center, which is occupied by Mauricio Dubon but lacking a proven backup (LaMonte Wade Jr., Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater will get chances to show they can handle the spot). There is question as to whether Ramos, who’s around 230 pounds, will fill out enough to be moved to a corner.
His arm looked major league-ready when he was playing left in the second inning and Jesse Winker lofted a long fly to him with Eugenio Suarez at third. Ramos camped underneath the ball, caught it and quickly unleashed a one-hopper to the plate. Suarez was safe, but Ramos’ arm looked dangerous.
If his bat is improving and arm is ready, Ramos’ cleats might need a bit more schooling, though.
His time in center field was an adventure. In the seventh, Max Schrock lifted a lazy fly to right-center that should have been Ramos’ ball, and so he called for it. So did right fielder Luis Basabe, who then slipped and inadvertently played safety and upended Ramos. Ramos tumbled onto the grass, the ball popping out of his glove before he could perform a football move — er, before he could catch it for the out.
An inning later, Alex Blandino stroked another lazy fly, this one to left-center. Ramos went down to his knees then stuck up his glove, the ball bouncing in and out of it.
“I slipped, I just dropped it,” he said.
These things can be fixed, but a bat like Ramos’ isn’t one that can be taught. He is now 5-for-12 in the Cactus League and encouraging the team that he has grown even without game reps.
“We’re really glad that that Ramos is hungry and we’re excited about his production,” Kapler said.