Prospect Profile No. 24: Jose Ramirez, RHP

Written by Greg Fertel | 11 December 2009

Picture from Scout.com

Year	Age	Lg	Lev	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	HBP	WP	BF	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2008	18	DOSL	FrgnRk	4.15	12	10	39.0	35	18	2	18	39		6	176	1.359	8.1	0.5	4.2	9.0	2.17
2009	19	FLOR	A_adv	0.00	1	0	3.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	10	0.333	3.0	0.0	0.0	6.0
2009	19	GULF	Rook	1.48	11	10	61.0	33	10	5	16	53	3	0	230	0.803	4.9	0.7	2.4	7.8	3.31
2 Seasons				2.45	24	20	103.0	69	28	7	34	94	3	6	416	1.000	6.0	0.6	3.0	8.2	2.76

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 12/11/2009.

Background

Jose Ramirez was born on January 21, 1990 in the Domincan Republic. He stands 6'1" tall and is very slender, weighing only 155 according to Baseball Reference. I'd imagine he has put on some weight since signing, but I don't know for sure. He first got into professional action in 2008 as an 18-year-old and immediately showed signs of life by striking out a batter per inning. Still, he had yet to establish himself on anyone's radar.

2009

No pitching prospect in the Yankees' system has his stock rise more than the young Jose Ramirez. His numbers in the Gulf Coast League were phenomenal, but stats from that level shouldn't be given much weight. It was his stuff and demeanor that led me to hype him up a bit. In September, I aggressively ranked him the Yankees 19th best prospect. It seemed like throughout the entire 2009 season, Ramirez consistently improved.

I would like to say that he's still under the radar, but in October he started to get some national prospect recognition. Kiley McDaniels tweeted that Jose Ramirez was a prospect getting some buzz in scouting circles and has "huge upside." At the end of the season, Ramirez even got a chance to pitch for Tampa in the bullpen and threw three shutout innings. He also got in an inning in the playoffs for Staten Island. There was no doubt, at this point, that Ramirez deserved some hype.

Scouting Report

After the 2008 season, the Yankee pitching gurus tweaked Jose Ramirez's delivery. He now has a much easier delivery with a stronger finish. I believe he added some weight, and that also contributed to the added velocity. Towards the end of the year, he was sitting 94-95 with his fastball and topping out at 96. Right now though, his most impressive pitch is his changeup. He throws it from the same arm slot as his fastball and it is very deceiving. At times, it flashes being a plus plus pitch for Ramirez. His third pitch is a curveball that definitely needs some work, which is the one knock on Ramirez right now.

2010 Outlook

I'm not sure what they'll do with Ramirez in 2010 but I would like to see them send him to full season ball in Charleston, and I think that makes the most sense. He really needs to work on developing a solid breaking ball. Even if he doesn't he still has a future as a reliever with his power fastball and above average changeup. He'll enter the season as a 20-year-old, and with his ceiling, he has a good chance to vault himself into the Yankees' top 5 prospects.