Julio Ramos Stats & Scouting Report

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Ramos posted a 1.41 ERA in his U.S. debut in 2008, then carried that success over into last season. He allowed three earned runs or fewer in all but one of his 13 starts for Vancouver, finished second in the Northwest League with a 2.38 ERA and won his last six outings after beginning the season 0-5. Ramos' fastball isn't overpowering at 88-91 mph, but it has some armside sink and he pounds the bottom half of the strike zone with it. He throws with an easy, fluid delivery that could allow him to add velocity as he develops. Ramos' changeup is his go-to pitch. He actually throws two varieties, a tumbling knuckle-change and a circle change with sink and fade. The A's scrapped his curveball before the season and switched him to a slider. He used to raise his arm more when throwing the curve, making it easy for batters to pick up, but he uses the same release point with his slider as his fastball. The slider is a below-average pitch for now, but it has shown promising tilt and depth. Ramos should advance to low Class A in 2010.

Signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Athletics in 2006, Ramos won Arizona League all-star honors in his U.S. debut last season. He doesn't possess the raw arm strength of the other pitchers on this list, but he fills up the bottom half of the strike zone and had one of the best changeups in the league. He ranked second in the NWL with a 2.38 ERA. "We've faced Salem-Keizer four times and he's come out with 'Groundhog Day' starts all four times," Magnante said. "He stays down in the zone, gets ahead in the count and really knows how to pitch." Ramos' fastball sits at 89-91 mph, and managers thought it could see a bump as he adds some muscle because he has an easy delivery with a smooth arm action. He's developing a slider, but his changeup is his bread and butter. He actually throws two versions, a knuckle-change with some tumble and a one-seam changeup with nice sink and fade.