San Francisco Giants’ Heliot Ramos Climbing Quickly Through Prospect Rankings
Heliot Ramos has quickly become the San Francisco Giants’ best prospect, and it’s reflected in the newest top-100 rankings.
Heliot Ramos is climbing quickly through the prospect ranks. Almost immediately after the San Francisco Giants made him the 19th overall draft pick last year, he joined the team’s top five or so prospects, according to most ranking publications. After an outstanding showing in his first taste of professional baseball, Ramos has clearly become the team’s top overall in no time at all.
Last week, Ramos was ranked as the 79th-best prospect in baseball on Baseball America’s annual top-100 list. On Saturday, Ramos was placed a bit higher on MLB Pipeline’s list, coming in at number 63 overall.
This is MLB Pipeline’s profile of Ramos:
"Ramos starred on the high school showcase circuit, winning MVP honors at the Under Armour All-America Game in July 2016 and wowing scouts when he ran a 6.42-second 60-yard dash at the Excellence Games a month before the 2017 Draft. He offered one of the best power/speed combinations available, which prompted the Giants to draft him 19th overall and sign him for $3,101,700. He continued to perform well in his pro debut, leading the Rookie-level Arizona League in slugging (.645) and finishing second in batting (.348) and OPS (1.049).While he needs a few years of development time, Ramos has the highest ceiling of any Giants prospect since Buster Posey. His bat speed and strength generate well-above-average power from the right side of the plate, and he already shows the ability to drive the ball out of the park to all fields. Part of an athletic family that includes brothers in the Dodgers system (Henry, an outfielder) and on Puerto Rico’s national soccer team (Hector), Heliot has at least plus speed as well as solid arm strength.The biggest question with Ramos is whether he can develop a more patient approach and make consistent contact so he can realize his offensive potential. He also needs to refine his reads and routes in order to stay in center field. Time is on his side, as he’ll play the entire 2018 season at age 18."
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Of the 18 players picked ahead of Ramos in 2017, eight are ranked higher than him on MLB’s list. That leaves Ramos ranked better than 10 players who heard their name called before number 19. Six of those 10 aren’t featured within MLB Pipeline’s top-100. Ramos is also the only Giant featured on either top-100 list, which is not really a surprise at all.
All this translates to the team’s most exciting prospect in years, and the team’s biggest outfield prospect in even longer. Ramos is a potential five-tool player, with the offensive profile of a player who could hit at the top or in the middle of an order, and has the potential to stick in center field.
That’s why teams were consistently asking about Ramos in trade discussions, with even the Cincinnati Reds bringing his name up in discussions of a Billy Hamilton trade. It also shows why the Giants were so adamant about holding onto the 18-year-old phenom. Instead, they held onto him as they swung a couple high-profile trades, which already looks like a smart move.
Ramos was dominant in his first pro season, tearing the cover off the ball in the Arizona Rookie League. Despite being nearly three years younger than the average player in the league, he put together one of the most impressive seasons by slashing .348/.404/.645 with 11 doubles, six triples, six home runs, and 10 stolen bases. If not for a concussion caused by a hit by pitch that ended his season prematurely, those numbers (and possibly the rankings) could be even better. Ramos was named an Arizona Rookie League All-Star after the season by Baseball America.
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After signing, Ramos said he hopes to reach the big leagues within “two or three years”. That is a lofty goal, but if he can continue to hit at the torrid pace he set in Arizona, maybe he can do just that.