Neil Ramirez to stay in Triple AAA for the forseable future

[soxrchamps07]

Re: Neil Ramirez promoted to Triple AAA

Good to hear, thanks for the link Sam.

 

[soxrchamps07]

Re: Neil Ramirez promoted to Triple AAA

Kevin Goldstein had a glowing write up on Neil in one of his Future shock peices.

Ramirez started off the year by not even making my Top 20 prospects in the Texas system, and he's quickly making me look like an idiot. Not that I mind, I actually love it when players change my mind about them. A supplemental first-round pick in 2007 out of a Virginia high school, Ramirez signed for $1 million, but it's taken some time for his career to get going. There was some progress last year, when he struck out 142 over 140 1/3 innings while repeating Low-A, but he also had a 4.43 ERA and was far too hittable due to being a control pitcher without enough command, or to steal and change a line from Salieri in the movie Amadeus, “too many strikes.” The first sign that something good might be happening this year came in the spring, when Jason Parks reported good things, and scouts in the industry had him suddenly touching 97 mph due to improved conditioning and a much cleaner delivery. His first start of the year proved the optimism was well warranted, as he struck out nine of the 17 batters he faced for High-A Myrtle Beach, and on Wednesday, he made an emergency start at Triple-A to fill in for Eric Hurley, who was placed on the disabled list earlier in the day with a viral infection. For Ramirez to simply hold his own would have been a significant accomplishment, but he did much more than that, as he fired six shutout innings while allowing three hits, striking out five and not walking a batter, with 50 of his 75 pitches going for strikes. Made all the more impressive, was that the start was against Triple-A Omaha, the Royals affiliate whose middle of the lineup features Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and 2010 Texas League MVP Clint Robinson. Ramirez's stuff was not only as good as his line, so was his poise according to reports from the game. Sitting at 92-96 mph with his fastball, Ramirez also flashed a plus changeup at times, but what was maybe most impressive was the in-game adjustment he made with his breaking ball. After struggling to miss bats or keep his normally hard-thrown curveball in the strike zone, he took some zip off the pitch in later innings to greater effectiveness. He's not going to stay in Triple-A, but in just one week, the 21-year-old has done more for his stock than any pitching prospect in the game.

 

[soxrchamps07]

Added article about him staying in Triple AAA.