Five Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects 2015: Where Are They Now?

Harold Ramirez

Harold Ramirez was another top outfield prospect in the Pirates system, ranking as their 7th best prospect. Ramirez was your proto-typical speedy, light-hitting outfielder. In 2013 and 2014, Ramirez had a BA/OBP of .285/.354 and .309/.364. He also stole 23 and 12 bases in a limited amount of time. But in both seasons, he had a really low slugging percentage. Overall, he was an average fielder with a 50 fielding grade and 45 arm grade.

In 2015, things would be basically the same as they were in 2013-2014, but he would improve on his power hitting. Through 344 plate appearances at High-A ball, Ramirez put up a slash of .337/.399/.453 with 22 steals, 13 doubles, and 4 long balls. That accumulated into an outstanding wRC+ of 163.

So understandably, he was considered a top 100 prospect by sites like Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. And Ramirez continued to hit, just not as good as one would hope. He basically returned to how he hit in 2013-2014, coming in with a .306/.354/.401 line, and 112 wRC+ in 414 plate appearances.

But Harold Ramirez was packaged with another prospect we’ll bring up in a little bit just so the Pirates could get rid of Francisco Liriano’s contract. After being sent to the Blue Jays, Ramirez struggled in his first full season in a Jays’ minor league uniform, coming in with a .266/.320/.358 line in 489 plate appearances. Although he would bounceback in 2018 with a .320/.365/.471 line and a 132 wRC+ in 505 plate appearances at Double-A, Ramirez was no longer considered part of the future for Toronto. At the end of 2018, the Jays let Ramirez go, where he signed on with the Miami Marlins.

Finally, in 2019, Ramirez got a shot at regular major league playing time. He received 446 plate appearances with the Miami Marlins where he batted for an unspectacular line of .276/.312/.416, coming in with a 93 OPS+ and 92 wRC+.Although he never racked up high walk totals, he only walked 4% of the time last season whereas his minor league walk % was nearly 6%. He also struck out way more often than he did in the minors with a 20.4% K rate. His minor league K rate was just 15.4%.

He also wasn’t a contributor on defense -4 DRS, -2.9 UZR and .8 range runs above average. However, Harold Ramirez will still get a chance to improve. If there is a 2020 season, it’ll be his age 25 season. Considering the Miami Marlins aren’t really risking anything by running Ramirez out there every day, even if he is a below-average player, it’s not like their other options are all that better.