Goats' Ramos cracks two more homers

So far, so good for Roberto Ramos in his introduction to the Eastern League. 
The Rockies prospect slugged a pair of homers and drove in three runs on a three-hit night as Double-A Hartford defeated Binghamton, 6-1, on Friday at NYSEG Stadium. He also clocked two long balls in his Yard Goats debut a night earlier against Akron.  

Gameday box score
"These first two games, [he's] confident," Hartford manager Warren Schaeffer said. "Just sticking with the approach he's had in Lancaster, not trying to do too much, really being aggressive. His swing is nice and compact and short. He's really been great these first two games, my gosh. Just aggressive and not scared of anything." 
The 23-year-old was promoted to Hartford following a successful first half with Class A Advanced Lancaster. Ramos earned California League midseason All-Star honors and won the circuit's Home Run Derby, hitting .304 with a 1.051 OPS in 60 games with the JetHawks. 
His production certainly has not dropped off since advancing levels. Both of Ramos' homers on Friday came off Mets No. 3 prospectJustin Dunn, who also was recently promoted to Double-A. 
Dunn bested the Hermosillo, Mexico, native in the first inning when Ramos lined to second base. But the 2014 16th-round pick connected on a 2-0 offering from the right-hander for a leadoff shot in the fourth. An inning later, Ramos deposited another 2-0 pitch from Dunn over the wall in left-center for a two-run blast, plating top Rockies prospectBrendan Rodgers. 
"You can tell a guy's ready to hit when he gets in the box or if he's not ready to hit," Schaeffer said. "The first two nights, he looks like he's ready to do damage and when he's in there, he means business. It's good to see. It's really refreshing." 

With two outs in the seventh, the College of the Canyons product pulled the first pitch he saw from right-hander Joshua Torres for a sharp ground ball down the right field line and his third extra-base hit of the game. 
For a prospect to make the jump from Class A Advanced to Double-A, which is often considered one of the hardest transitions in the Minors, with this much success "says the world about him," Schaeffer said. 
"There's not too many guys who work harder than Roberto Ramos," the manager said. "He trusts himself an awful lot. He has a lot of confidence in what he does. It's nice to see that once he comes to Double-A, is that something doesn't change because that can happen sometimes. Guys get to Double-A and they think they need to do too much or more than they usually do."
Schaeffer managed Ramos for 46 games with Class A Asheville in 2015, when the left-handed hitter put up a .341/.413/.610 slash line. Ramos' plan at the plate hasn't changed much since then, the skipper said, which has produced confidence in his approach and swing. 
"It's nice to see him stick with it," Schaeffer said. 

Ramos won't hit two homers every game he plays with Hartford. But just like anybody else, the key to sustaining close to this level of success will be sticking with the routine that has gotten him to this point. 
"It's easier said than done," Schaeffer said. "He's going to go through struggles, everybody does. ... It's not rocket science. You do something well, you need to stick to it." 
Rockies No. 3 prospect Peter Lambert (7-2) won his fourth straight start, allowing one run on two hits with five strikeouts over seven innings. The right-hander's lone blemish came when he allowed a solo homer to Tim Tebow, who went 2-for-3.
"Pete has so many strengths, it's ridiculous," Schaeffer said. "He pounds the zone. He attacks hitters. He has a great plan. He sticks to his plan. He's got multiple different ways to beat hitters. He throws all of his pitches for strikes. He pounds the bottom of the zone. He fields his positions. He hits. Pete does it all, he's pretty incredible. But his best quality for me is that he's a bulldog on the mound. Every time he goes out there on the mound, it's time for him to win. That's his approach and that's the best part of him."