The Road to The Show™: Heliot Ramos
Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken to reach the brink of realizing his Major League dream. Here's a look at San Francisco Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos. For more player journeys on The Road to The Show, click here.
Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken to reach the brink of realizing his Major League dream. Here's a look at San Francisco Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos. For more player journeys on The Road to The Show, click here.
The Giants haven't gotten much out of the Draft in the last decade -- 2011 selection Joe Panik was the most recent first-round pick to produce more than 0.1 bWAR for the club. He's only 21 and has yet to play above Double-A, but San Francisco No. 3 prospect Heliot Ramos, a first-rounder out of Puerto Rico in 2017, is ready to turn the tide.
Selected 19th overall that year, Ramos earned a $3.1 million bonus for a rare combination of speed and power that took the Arizona Rookie League by storm in the summer of 2017. The 17-year-old hit .348/.404/.645 with six homers, six triples, 10 stolen bases and 27 RBIs in just 35 AZL games. While he struck out nearly 32% of the time, every other aspect of his offensive profile was almost too good to be true.
In some ways, it was. Ramos took a step back at Augusta in the Class A South Atlantic League in 2018, which saw his OPS drop 340 points to .709 in his first full season. While his .245/.313/.396 line with the GreenJackets wasn't pretty, it was roughly league-average for an 18-year-old kid who was nearly three and a half years younger than the Sally League average.
Ramos gutted out the campaign, playing in 124 games and hitting 11 homers as the youngest regular in the league and earned the first of two invitations to the All-Star Futures Game. And if the Giants were disappointed by his 2018 performance, it didn't show: they promoted him to San Jose in the California League to open 2019.
It was in San Jose that Ramos first teamed up with Giants 2018 first-round pick Joey Bart, who was already considered the heir apparent to Buster Posey behind the plate in San Francisco. Ramos and Bart slotted in as San Jose's three and four hitters, respectively, until both were sidelined by injuries later in April -- Bart with a broken hand after being hit by a pitch and Ramos with a sprained left knee. Ramos returned after a month and Bart missed about six weeks. By the time both prospects were promoted to Double-A Richmond on Aug. 8, they'd both made a mark in the Cal League. Ramos rebounded from his lackluster 2018 by hitting .306/.385/.500 with 13 homers in 77 games, outpacing Bart's .265/.315/.479 line.
"Heliot did an excellent job of swinging at pitches he could do damage with," Giants director of player development Kyle Haines told MiLB.com in 2019. "He's got power to all fields and considering his age and relative inexperience, that speaks volumes. Defensively, he's played a strong center field and you can see his overall game coming together nicely. He's young, but we feel like we've given him what he can handle and he's passed each test so far."
When Ramos arrived in Richmond at age 19, he was five full years younger than the average Eastern Leaguer. He again held his own against much more experienced pitchers, but his strikeout rate jumped over 31% in his brief 25-game stint with the Flying Squirrels. Ramos also looked overmatched in the Arizona Fall League following the 2019 regular season, hitting just .185/.250/.262 in 17 games with Scottsdale.
Despite the Giants' history of aggressively promoting Ramos, they did not offer him a non-roster invitation to Major League Spring Training in 2020.
Bart told MLB.com that he felt Ramos' absence when he reported to Scottsdale Stadium in February.
"He's really good," Bart said. "I wish he was here. That kid is very special, and I wouldn't say that about a lot of guys."
He played in two Cactus League games anyway, going 2-for-5 with a homer before being sidelined by an oblique strain.
Ramos participated in both the Giants' alternate site workouts in Sacramento this summer and their instructional league in Arizona in the fall, and appears poised to resume his climb to San Francisco as MLB.com's No. 60 prospect.
Ramos will need to answer two questions to get the most out of his potential: Can he keep his strikeouts in check? And can he legitimately play center field in the Majors?
He's shown an ability to adapt at the plate, and with lightning-quick hands and power to all fields, could develop into a .270 hitter with 25-plus homers annually, according to MLB Pipeline. Remaining in center may be more difficult as he continues to fill out his 6-foot frame. Scouts now rate his speed as merely average, which may ultimately lead to a shift to a corner outfield role. The 2021 season will be a big one for the 21-year-old slugger.
John Parker is an editor for MiLB.com.
Here are the 2025 All-Spring Breakout Teams
Fifteen games, several jersey swaps and countless highlights later, the second edition of Spring Breakout has officially concluded – and it lived up to its billing. Of the 16 contests sprinkled across four days, only one game (Dodgers vs. Cubs) was rained out. Coincidentally, the Cubs were one of two
Rox young sluggers aim to bring pop back to Coors Field
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Coors Field may provide the best run-scoring environment in Major League Baseball, but the Rockies haven’t taken advantage of it in recent years. Even without adjusting for Coors, they have fielded offenses worse than the league average the past three seasons, and they scored the fewest runs
Astros brass sees potential in consistently 'underranked' farm system
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The last time the Astros landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s farm system rankings was before the 2019 season. Since those rankings expanded to all 30 teams ahead of the 2020 season -- 11 lists in total -- they’ve never ranked higher than
Complete results and highlights from Spring Breakout
The second edition of MLB Spring Breakout is complete, and there was no shortage of highlights from the future stars of Major League Baseball over the four-day showcase. Here's a complete breakdown of the 16-game exhibition:
Southpaw Spring Breakout: White Sox future on display with Schultz, Smith
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- If all goes as planned for the White Sox, left-handers Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz won’t spend much time following each other to the mound in a single game. Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline, and Smith, who is
In first pro game, Rainer offers pop, promise to Tigers fans
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Bryce Rainer’s pro career consisted of workouts and batting practice until Sunday.
'Me and Brady on the dirt again': House, King reunite at Spring Breakout
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The 2025 Spring Breakout was a flashback for Brady House and Seaver King. Over 10 years ago, the infielders were travel ball teammates in Georgia who shared the dream of making it to the Major Leagues. Now, they are top prospects in the same organization,
Lambert -- 'an adrenaline guy' -- hoping to be next Mets bullpen gem
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Ryan Lambert loves throwing hard. He relishes the idea of getting to two strikes and blowing hitters away. “Get me in a game,” Lambert said, “cool things will happen.”
Stewart embraces Spring Breakout: 'What's not to love?'
PHOENIX -- Sal Stewart was one fired-up Reds prospect. On Sunday in the first inning during the organization's 9-7 Spring Breakout win over Brewers prospects, Stewart lifted a 2-2 pitch that sailed over the center fielder's head to the wall. Already not known as a speedster, he stumbled running between
Prospect Peña quietly drawing raves in Brewers' farm system
PHOENIX – Jesús Made was at the top of the Brewers’ lineup for Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Reds in the finale of MLB’s four-day Spring Breakout, a fitting perch when you consider that the 17-year-old infielder is under a bright spotlight as MLB Pipeline’s No. 55 prospect. Made could
Brecht -- in 1st outing since '24 Draft -- wows at Spring Breakout
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday's Spring Breakout showcase was the perfect unveiling for Rockies No. 5 prospect Brody Brecht. A right-handed pitcher from the University of Iowa whom the Rockies selected 38th overall last summer, Brecht had a nice collegiate resume, an interesting backstory as a former wide receiver for the
Braves prospects show promise in Spring Breakout
NORTH PORT, Fla. -- As Terry Pendleton prepared to serve as the manager of the Braves prospect team that played the Tigers prospect team in a Spring Breakout game on Sunday afternoon, he said fans should be patient with John Gil and Luis Guanipa, a pair of teenagers who have
Yanks' Lagrange flashes triple-digit heat in Spring Breakout
SARASOTA, Fla. -- There was an audible “Ooh” from the crowd at Ed Smith Stadium, and Carlos Lagrange quickly glanced beyond the right-field wall, checking the velocity of the pitch he’d just thrown in Saturday’s 5-4 Spring Breakout loss to the Orioles. It had registered in the triple digits, and
Bradfield dedicates Spring Breakout performance to late friend
SARASOTA, Fla. -- It was about more than playing in the national spotlight. More than the dinner bet placed with an old college teammate earlier in the month. More than a game. As Enrique Bradfield Jr. slid home to score a run during the first inning of Saturday night’s Spring
'Hungry' Alcántara hoping to pounce on big league prey in '25
MESA, Ariz. -- The thing about jaguars is, you don’t want to see one when it’s hungry. So when Cubs legend Sammy Sosa spoke to the organization’s No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline -- and the No. 89 prospect overall -- the former slugger gave him some apt advice. “His
Rainiers broadcaster Pay talks historic role on MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Prospect Santos 'electric' in Spring Breakout start
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Malcolm Moore knew Winston Santos was locked in before he even threw a pitch. In the second annual Spring Breakout game, Santos -- the Rangers’ No. 5 prospect, per MLB Pipeline -- was throwing to Moore, the Rangers’ No. 4 prospect and highest-ranked catcher. The battery more
Switch-pitcher Cijntje deals from both sides in Spring Breakout
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Jurrangelo Cijntje knew who’d be waiting for him in the batter’s box when he emerged from the visiting bullpen on Friday evening. The Mariners’ switch-pitcher had seen Guardians infielder Travis Bazzana recently at a card-signing event, to which they each joked, “I’m going to see you soon,”
Fans in this Minor League town are hungry for ... the Spicy Meatballs?!?
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Chandler adds mix to upper-90s heat in stellar Spring Breakout start
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- In the inaugural Spring Breakout game a year ago, as he was coming out to pitch the ninth inning, Bubba Chandler slammed a Red Bull and declared “let’s do this” before pumping upper-90s heat.