Pirates lose underrated reliever prospect to Giants in sneaky signing

Pirates fans watched a very exciting farm system develop in 2025, seeing Konnor Griffin blossom into a future star, Esmerlyn Valdez turn into a top slugging prospect, and Hunter Barco hit another level. It was easy to forget about other underrated prospects through all that hype. One player that fell under the radar was Wilkin Ramos, an unranked right-hander who put together an excellent season, but recently slipped away to the Giants on a minor league deal.

Ramos pitched really well in Altoona last season, posting a 1.45 ERA with a 9.60 K/9 and 0.95 WHIP across 49.2 innings pitched. He did really well in Double-A and earned a promotion near the end of the season. He struggled in Indianapolis, yet still finished the year with a 2.64 ERA across both levels.

On just a one-year minor league deal, Ramos didn't do enough in Triple-A to warrant an addition to the 40-man, which would've kept him from minor league free agency. At the same time, the Pirates should have made an effort to keep the right-hander with a fastball that touches 98 mph. Still in Triple-A, Ramos still put together a 3.76 FIP with an opposing batting average of .237. He seemed to just get really unlucky. Opponents put together an average exit velocity of 85.4 mph and a hard-hit rate of just 27.6%. The red flag was his poor 8.2% whiff rate. Overall, though, his ability to limit solid contact was very valuable, and he might've leveled up in the Pirates' lab.

Pirates let underrated propsect Wilkin Ramos slip to Giants in free agency.

It is unknown if the Pirates offered Ramos another minor league deal or not, but losing him as depth is unfortunate. With a little more swing-and-miss in his game, he could have developed into a legitimate bullpen option in Pittsburgh. He definitely checked enough boxes in 2025 to project as a potential big leaguer, and now the Giants will see if he is ready come the spring.

While this is not the same as losing a top-ranked prospect, missing out on a successful reunion does sting, especially with the strides he made in his development with the Pirates' organization. If the Giants can unlock his swing-and-miss, Ramos could be an arm we see debut in 2026.