Once one of the Giants’ top prospects, Heliot Ramos is back with the Giants for a chance to reclaim some of the shine he earned while rising through the minors.
Ramos, 23, was recalled on Sunday to face left-handed pitcher Kris Bubic. The Giants are also slated to face southpaws Julio Urías and Clayton Kershaw in their upcoming series against the Dodgers, meaning Ramos will likely get more opportunities with a platoon advantage.
Ramos is starting in left field Sunday and hitting eighth. San Francisco optioned left-handed outfielder Matt Beaty to make room for Ramos.
“It’s exciting,” manager Gabe Kapler said Sunday. “We want to keep giving our young players opportunities whenever we can. This, it just so happens, with this run of lefties and we need to be able to get guys like (Mike) Yastrzemski off days…Having a right-handed bat that’s strong and athletic as Ramos has been is encouraging.”
Triple-A manager Dave Brundage told Kapler that Ramos’ at-bats have been strong early in the season, Kapler said. In seven games, Ramos is hitting .333.
Kapler has said that he wants Ramos — and every prospect — to earn their promotions by dominating their competition in the minors. This roster move doesn’t necessarily reflect that, but became necessary because of injuries to right-handed outfielders Mitch Haniger and Austin Slater.
Neither Haniger (oblique) nor Slater (hamstring) has a timetable for return.
“In a perfect world, every call-up, every opportunity, would be totally merit-based,” Kapler said. “It doesn’t work that way. Guys get hurt. We need the best possible option. And Ramos has had some experience at the major league level. Still has all the talent that we consistently talked about. But yes: you don’t get to do it exactly as you want from a development standpoint in these situation.”
Ramos’ development, at least statistically, has stalled at Triple-A. The team had hoped for him to contribute at the Major League level last year, but instead he hit .227 with the River Cats.
Bubic on Sunday will be the first left-handed starter the Giants have faced this season. In nine career MLB games, Ramos has hit .100 with no extra-base hits.