Brad Martens / SF Giants
SCOTTSDALE — Heliot Ramos has said it before, and he’ll probably say it again.
“I’m ready, I can’t wait,” the top outfield prospect said on Tuesday. “I feel like I’ll do everything I can to get there, and I feel like I deserve it. I feel like I can play in the big leagues.”
It’s not braggadocio, and it’s not a message to Farhan Zaidi, Scott Harris and Gabe Kapler. What it is is a confident outfielder who has said he’s felt he has been ready since he was drafted, such is his focus on reaching the big time.
The 21-year-old finally has made it to major league camp, to which he was not invited last year (and to which Joey Bart took issue). The biggest difference he said — apart from the countless differences that the pandemic has forced — is the food options. There’s so much variety in feeding 74 major leaguers and major league hopefuls.
He’s solidly built, more linebacker than wide receiver, and said he’s up to 230-235 pounds. He moves well, although the question has been whether bulking up will move him away from center field. He hopes he has that answer.
“I know I can play all three, but I personally want to stay in center field. I’ll do whatever it takes to stay there,” said Ramos, whose path to the majors would be wider with center-field ability, too — the Giants are thin there.
But if 2021 is the season he has been waiting for, his bat will be the reason. The last time he accumulated public stats, he soared at High-A ball (.855 OPS) with a more selective approach at the plate. He then struggled in a small, 25-game sample at Double-A Richmond to close 2019 before the coronavirus wiped away the minor leagues from 2020.
He spent last year in the alternate site and went to the instructional league and said he’s a different, more mature and calmer hitter than he once was. It’s the same mindset that Donnie Ecker, Justin Viele and Dustin Lind have instilled upon the big-league hitters: Wait for the pitcher to mistakenly come into your zone, and then do damage.
“I’ve just got to pick one zone, one pitch and do my thing. I’m still working on it,” Ramos said over Zoom “… I feel way better than last year. … I feel I know more what I’m doing.”
It’s too early in the spring season to get a good read. On Monday, Ramos started at DH against the Rangers and went 1-for-3 with a bouncing single up the middle, off a tough fastball, and a solidly hit lineout to right. He has begun pleading his case.
The Giants’ outfield is crowded, and plenty would have to go down or struggle for Ramos, who is expected to start at Richmond, to get the call. Mauricio Dubon is the center fielder, and San Francisco wants to see how a few unproven options — LaMonte Wade Jr., Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater — can handle the spot.
If they can’t — or if the Giants are out of contention in September — Ramos’ time likely will have arrived.
“I can’t stop thinking about it,” said the Puerto Rico native. “That’s my dream, that’s what I want to do.”