The Road to The Show™: Mets' Ramirez
Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at fourth-ranked Mets prospect Alex Ramirez. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here. The Mets haven’t typically been big spenders on the
Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at fourth-ranked Mets prospect Alex Ramirez. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here.
The Mets haven’t typically been big spenders on the international amateur market. But in his first two professional seasons, Alex Ramirez has provided an impressive return on their most recent big splash.
The outfielder from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic inked a reported $2.1 million deal at the start of the 2019 international signing period. Now ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 96 overall prospect, he joins Francisco Álvarez and Ronny Mauricio as the only international prospects to ever sign with the Mets for a bonus of at least $2 million.
Since hitting the professional ranks, Ramirez has moved fairly quickly up the Minor League ladder. He climbed from Single-A St. Lucie to High-A Brooklyn as a teenager in his first full season in 2022. Ramirez batted .281 overall with a .782 OPS, 11 homers and 71 RBIs. He also led all Mets prospects with 140 total hits, 92 singles, 30 doubles and seven triples.
“I feel like the bigger the spotlight, the better the player. He really likes pressure. He likes expectations, and he likes being pushed,” Kevin Howard, the Mets' director of player development, told MiLB.com in November. “I think the more we saw him challenged, the more you saw him turn into a superstar.”
It’s been a good start to the professional career of a player who was ticketed as the club’s “center fielder of the future” when he signed four years ago. Ramirez is listed at 6-foot-3 and 170 pounds, about the same as his amateur days.
The confidence in Ramirez’s future stemmed from his athleticism. Prior to signing as a 16-year-old, Ramirez showed an ability to regularly make solid contact and pepper line drives to all fields. With his size and frame, there was an expectation that his power would continue to develop into an above-average tool. But his loudest tools, even as an amateur, were his speed, range and defensive skill set in center field even at an early age.
“What we liked about him was he was a young man who’s athletic,” former special assistant to the general manager Omar Minaya told MLB.com in 2019. “He’s a lean-built outfielder. His body’s going to fill out really well. He’s a big kid, a lean, athletic looking kid who’s going to develop physically -- the type of ideal body that we like.”
Like every member of the 2019 international class, Ramirez had to wait out the pandemic to begin playing in professional games. When 2021 rolled around, the Mets were aggressive with Ramirez’s assignment, sending him to St. Lucie after a stint in extended Spring Training.
Beginning the season on June 1, Ramirez played 76 games and batted .258/.326/.384 with 24 extra-base hits, including five homers and four triples, while stealing 16 bases and scoring 41 times. His 31.1 percent strikeout rate and 6.9 percent walk rate showed a need to improve his approach at the plate, but overall it was an encouraging offensive season for an 18-year-old in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League.
Ramirez hit the ground running in his return to St. Lucie in 2022. He batted .359 with a .944 OPS over the first 33 games with 51 total hits, including three homers, four triples and 10 doubles. He also reduced his strikeout rate to just 20.4 percent over that span. He was the FSL Player of the Week for May 3-8 after going 15-for-28 with five multi-hit games against Palm Beach.
He still wasn’t drawing many walks by the end of May but seemed to put an emphasis on looking for the free pass in June. From June 2 until his promotion to Brooklyn on July 3, his walk rate – which had hovered around 4 percent over the first two months of the season – rose to 18.1 percent. Although he proved to be a more disciplined hitter, complete with an on-base percentage approaching .400, he wasn’t having the same type of success at the plate, batting .225 over that 24-game span.
📽️ Outfield prospect Alex Ramírez takes a round of BP on the Mets back fields: pic.twitter.com/WxbTAGQaG5
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) February 18, 2023
He finished his FSL tenure with another Player of the Week honor, putting together a nice series with the bat against Jupiter at the start of July. From there, it took about two weeks for Ramirez to get the hang of the South Atlantic League.
The righty-swinging outfielder had just five hits in his first 37 at-bats at the High-A level. But he broke out right around the All-Star break, going 22-for-56 (.393) with 20 RBIs over a 14-game span beginning July 16. He hit his last two homers of the season in the same game against Winston-Salem on Aug. 4, then began to level out over the final two months of the year.
Ramirez finished the regular season with a .278 average and .756 OPS in Brooklyn. He collected three hits and scored three times in the first game of the SAL playoffs against Aberdeen, but the Cyclones eventually lost that semifinals series.
While the bat will help him climb, Ramirez still displayed his signature speed and athleticism in 2022, gliding from gap to gap to track fly balls. He got some work in the corner outfield spots, but mainly stayed in center.
His pitch recognition and plate discipline stand out as areas in need of improvement, but that should come with more playing time and natural maturation. He’s also likely to fill out a little more, get stronger and turn some of those doubles into homers.
Still just 20 years old, Ramirez earned his first invitation to big league camp this year. He’s not likely to crack The Show in 2023, but it will serve him and the organization well to see him put all five tools on display in the Grapefruit League.
Gerard Gilberto is a reporter for MiLB.com.
Orioles' Honeycutt joins The Show Before the Show
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
Red Sox prospect rips double THROUGH Fenway-esque scoreboard
Red Sox No. 4 prospect Franklin Arias, an infielder for High-A Greenville, REALLY didn’t want to let visiting Asheville score any runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday night. With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fourth, Arias showed he apparently held
April's hottest hitting prospects -- one for each organization
The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game's best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest
Check out the best -- and wackiest -- Minor League promos happening in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast coming LIVE to a Somerset this June
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
New ballparks highlight 2025 MiLB road trip stops
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Minor League Baseball partners with TruGreen
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care treatment provider, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Minor League Baseball that includes activations across all 120 clubs, a makeover of the home dugout in each market, sponsorship of select MiLB team grounds crews, and a new initiative called
Podcast explains why the Syracuse Mets are looking for Jim Morrison
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
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the 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
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
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.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
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
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now
Nationals prospect King joins 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
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