Giants Remain Patient With Heliot Ramos

Though a knee injury in late April sidelined Heliot Ramos for a few weeks, the Giants remain enthused about their 2017 first-round pick. So enthused, in fact, that members of the organization—and even Ramos himself—need to occasionally be reminded that he’s only 19 years old.

“Sometimes you’ve got to pump the brakes and let a guy develop at his own pace,” Giants farm director Kyle Haines said. “So, I think we all have to be reminded of that . . . but at the same time, he’s done everything on his part to show us that we don’t need to rein him in too much.”

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 188 pounds, Ramos didn’t have a great first full pro season with low Class A Augusta last year (.245/.313/.396), but his August (.282/.312/.476 with six triples) provided an indication of his abilities. He carried that progress into April with high Class A San Jose, where he hit .270/.420/.587 with five home runs before suffering the knee injury.

When the Giants drafted Ramos, they said he could become a five-tool player. They’re sticking with that assessment.

“He’s a good defender in center field. He can throw. He can run,” Haines said. “He’s a strong, very well put-together athlete. He kind of reminds me a lot of (Cardinals outfielder) Marcell Ozuna, but maybe a little better plate discipline at this point that he’s shown in High-A.”

Ramos has drawn 14 walks in 83 plate appearances with San Jose after drawing just 35 walks in 535 plate appearances with Augusta in 2018. Of course, what the righthanded hitter from Puerto Rico does when he makes contact is what has the Giants most excited about his future.

“I would call him a doubles hitter (who) can hit it as far as anybody,” Haines said. “He’s not just a guy swinging straight uphill, trying to hit it as high as he can. He can hit a line-drive missile into right-center just as he is capable of pulling a long home run.”

The Giants were hoping to get Ramos back in action in early June. His 27-year-old brother, Henry, is an outfielder with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento.

NOTES

— Lefthander Conner Menez thrived in his first seven starts with Double-A Richmond, recording a 2.27 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 35.2 innings.

— Righthanded reliever Raffi Vizcaino got promoted from high Class A San Jose to Double-A Richmond on May 9. He racked up 30 strikeouts in 16 innings and converted all three of his save opportunities with San Jose. He did not allow a run in his first two appearances with the Flying Squirrels, striking out four in 2.1 innings.