Harold Ramírez

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Harold Ramirez.jpg

Harold Andres Ramirez Lemus

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 10", Weight 210 lb.

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Biographical Information[edit]

Outfielder Harold Ramirez began his professional career in 2012 at 17 years old in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He made the majors 7 years later.

He was signed by Pirates scouts Rene Gayo, Orlando Covo and Marc DelPiano. In his first year, he hit .259/.310/.333 in 39 games for the GCL Pirates while playing error-free defense in the outfield (65 PO, 1 A). With the Jamestown Jammers in 2013, he hit .285/.354/.409 with 23 steals in 34 tries over 71 games. He tied Jeff Roy for the New York-Penn League lead in stolen bases, tied Conrad Gregor for 3rd in hits (78) and ranked 5th in runs (42). In the 2013 New York-Penn League All-Star Game, he started in left and hit 3rd for the NL. He grounded out against Brent Powers, flew into a double play against Sergio Gomez, grounded out facing Matt Whitehouse and drew a walk from Stefan Lopez, scoring on a hit by Felix Munoz. Baseball America named him the fastest baserunner in the Bucs chain and the 9th-best prospect in their system.

In 2014, with the West Virginia Power, he hit .309/.364/.402 with 12 swipes in 49 games, missing significant time with a hamstring injury. He still had a 23-game hitting streak to end the year, longest in the South Atlantic League that year and breaking Starling Marte's team record by one. Entering 2015, he was ranked the #10 prospect in the Pirates chain by Baseball America.

He was the starting right fielder for the Colombian national team in the 2015 Pan American Games despite being their youngest position player (and second-youngest player; only Nabil Crismatt was younger). He hit .333/.417/.667 with 2 homers, 5 runs and 2 steals (in 4 tries) in six games, with 20 putouts, two assists and no errors. His homer off the Dominican national team's Kelvin Pérez prevented a shutout. He was clearly Colombia's big star, leading the team in slugging (.056 over Steve Brown), OBP (.034 over Brown), runs (one over Héctor Acuña) and homers (tied with Brown). He was among the tourney leaders in slugging (6th, between former major leaguers Andy Parrino and Pedro Feliz), tied for 4th in homers (behind only Anthony García, Alfredo Despaigne and Tyler O'Neill), tied for 10th in runs and tied for second in steals (one behind Aneury Tavárez).

For the 2015 season, he produced at a .337/.399/.458 clip with 6 triples and 22 steals (caught 15 times, though) for the Bradenton Marauders. Had he qualified, he would have easily led the Florida State League in average (Willians Astudillo led at .314). He tied for 4th in triples but tied for 4th in caught stealing. He had the best average of any Pirates farmhand with 300+ plate appearances despite playing in a pitcher-friendly league. Baseball America ranked him as the FSL's #12 prospect (between teammate Reese McGuire and Aaron Blandino) and as Pittsburgh's #5 prospect (between Jameson Taillon and McGuire). At the time, he appeared blocked in the Pirates chain by #2 prospect Austin Meadows and a young starting Pirates outfield of Marte, Andrew McCutchen and Gregory Polanco.

He was excellent in spring training for the Pirates in 2016, going 11 for 19 and winning the praise of manager Clint Hurdle, before being reassigned to minor league camp. When asked if Ramirez was ready for the majors, though, Hurdle told reporters "I'm in a different business than you're in. I'm a crock pot. People have a tendency to be microwaves", indicating that Ramirez needed more time still. He was with Colombia in the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in March 2016. Starting in right field and hitting leadoff, he was only 2 for 15, albeit with three runs as Colombia swept their three games to win a spot in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, their first trip to a World Baseball Classic.

He started 2016 well with the Altoona Curve, hitting .306/.354/.401 in 98 games. On August 1st, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays along with Francisco Liriano and McGuire in return for Drew Hutchison. Pittsburgh apparently felt he was expendable given the presence of Marte and Polanco in the majors; the impression left on the public was that Ramirez and McGuire were thrown into the deal so Toronto would be more willing to eat Liriano's hefty salary. He was 3 for 4 with a double and a walk in his lone game for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats after the deal but then injured his knee.

Back in AA for a second season, he hit .266/.320/.358 for New Hampshire in 2017, a big drop-off for the former prospect. He was much better in 2018 for the Fisher Cats - .320/.365/.471, 37 2B, 70 RBI, getting back on track. He won the Eastern League batting title (7 points ahead of Danny Woodrow), was 10th in OBP (between Dan Gamache and Jordan George), was second in hits (148, 6 behind Bo Bichette), was second in doubles (6 behind Bichette), was 8th in RBI (between Logan Hill and Corban Joseph), was 6th in slugging and 4th in OPS (between Levi Michael and Brendan Rodgers). He joined Trey Amburgey and Jonathan Davis as the EL's All-Star outfielders, though teammate Cavan Biggio beat him out for MVP honors.

He kept pummeling opposing pitchers that winter, producing at a .381/.459/.556 clip for the Leones del Caracas. He won the Venezuelan League batting title (29 points ahead of Franklin Barreto), led in OBP (.029 ahead of Cesar Valera), was second in slugging (11 behind long-time major leaguer Delmon Young), led in OPS (72 ahead of Barreto) and was 6th in RBI. Young beat him out for MVP.

A free agent, he signed with the Miami Marlins. Finally making it to AAA after 3 years at AA, he began with a bang (.355/.408/.591 in 31 G for the New Orleans Baby Cakes. That earned him his first call to the big leagues. Starting in left field and hitting 7th in his debut, he lined out against Jacob deGrom before singling off Edwin Diaz in his 4th at-bat of the day.

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