PHILADELPHIA — When the Giants sent Heliot Ramos, one of their top outfield prospects, back to Triple-A after a short stint with the big club in April, they told him to hit his way back to the majors.
Ramos, who joined the team in Philadelphia on Tuesday and was promptly optioned back to Triple-A before Wednesday’s game, didn’t exactly do that. But the progress he has made at the plate in the last week gave manager Gabe Kapler the confidence to throw him in the lineup when Darin Ruf was placed on the bereavement list.
Ramos put recent adjustments he’s made with Triple-A hitting coach Damon Minor on display Tuesday, with two of the hardest-hit balls of anyone in the marathon extra-innings win. In his first at-bat, he hit a line drive so hard — 105.4 mph — that it caused third baseman Alec Bohm to mishandle it and was credited with an error. His next time up, Ramos came mere feet shy of his first big league home run, hamming a ball 106 mph off the bat that fell just short of the wall.
“I thought (I had had that one),” Ramos said. “I hit that one good.”
Ramos spent most of Tuesday traveling, leaving Sacramento around 6 a.m., catching a connecting flight in Phoenix and finally making it to Citizen’s Bank Park around 4:15 p.m. And the next day, he was optioned back to Triple-A (though didn’t immediately leave the team), so the Giants could add an additional pitcher (Sam Long) and a left-handed bat (Jason Vosler).
He’s optimistic, though, that the changes he made recently will help him get back to the bigs.
Ramos was 6-for-13 with a home run and a double and hadn’t struck out once in his past three games at Triple-A, after starting the season 25-for-142 (.176) with only six extra-base hits and 45 strikeouts.
“It was a tough month and half because I was just trying to figure it out, how my body’s supposed to move,” Ramos said. “I was tightening up too much, I didn’t have space for my hands. I just opened up a little bit and try to be more free to hit the ball. … But now I have a pretty good idea of how to do it. I’m feeling good, I’m feeling great.”
Ramos also needed to work on identifying the pitches he could drive.
“Right now my swing is great, it’s just my mind, being able to stick with my plan and stick with what I want to hit,” Ramos said. “It was like it’s time to work. It’s time to learn. It’s time to let them know and show them that I can get out of tough times.”
Ramos, a native of Puerto Rico, was looking forward to the Giants’ upcoming trip to Miami (“They have a lot of Puerto Rican restaurants there. I would love it.”). Although he was a casualty of roster needs for their series finale Wednesday in Philadelphia, manager Gabe Kapler said it was possible that Ramos would accompany the team to Miami.
“There’s a lot of balls in the air, and I would say Heliot is still one of those,” Kapler said. “The last couple of days were better in Triple-A. The at-bats were fine yesterday.”
Slater, Belt no guarantee for Miami
The Giants requested that Austin Slater fly to Philadelphia and join them for their three-game series with the Phillies, even though he wasn’t eligible to be activated until Thursday, when they start their four-game set in Miami.
Yet, it’s no guarantee that Slater (left wrist) will be activated at his earliest date of eligibility. Kapler said that would depend on how Slater’s wrist responded to batting practice Wednesday afternoon, after he met with reporters.
Potentially complicating matter, the Giants aren’t scheduled to face a left-handed starter for at least their first three games with the Marlins, meaning Slater would likely be activated into a bench role.
Brandon Belt, who is still in San Francisco receiving treatment on the inflammation in his right knee, won’t join the team in Miami, at least for the first game of their series.
“I definitely don’t think it’s Day 1, but he could be on the trip,” Kapler said.
With the calendar turned to June, the mustache Slater was sporting for the month of May was gone from his face. Mike Yastrzemski and Curt Casali were also clean-shaven. Still no definitive answer on whether a beard counts as a mustache.
Look at that pitching matchup Saturday
The Giants set their rotation for their four-game series in Miami with no surprises.
Fans should be in for a treat Saturday, which features Giants ace Logan Webb up against the Marlins’ Pablo Lopez, whose 1.83 leads the National League. Here’s the full slate of probables (all times Pacific):
Thursday, 3:40 p.m. – LHP Alex Wood (3-4, 4.81) vs. RHP Sandy Alcantara (5-2, 2.00)
Friday, 3:40 p.m. – RHP Alex Cobb (3-2, 5.73) vs. RHP Elieser Hernandez (2-5, 5.77)
Saturday, 3:10 p.m. – RHP Logan Webb (5-1, 3.52) vs. RHP Pablo Lopez (4-2, 1.83)
Sunday, 10:40 a.m. – RHP Jakob Junis (2-1, 2.68) vs. TBA
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June 02, 2022 at 05:07AM
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How SF Giants prospect Heliot Ramos turned around Triple-A struggles - Vacaville Reporter
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