Ramón Rosso

Ramon Antonio Rosso

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 215 lb.

• Debut July 24, 2020

• Born June 9, 1996 in Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional D.R.

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Ramón Rosso's rise from obscure long-shot prospect to major leaguer might be one of the most unique stories in professional baseball. Rosso was first discovered by the Los Angeles Dodgers while pitching in 2015 in Spain for CB Barcelona of the Liga Nacional División de Honor where he was 1-5, posted a 5.17 ERA while striking out 50 in 38 1/3 innings of work. He tied for 8th in the league in losses but was 4th in opponent average (.187, between Leslie Nacar and Carlos Sierra). He had the highest ERA of their three starting pitchers, behind Jorge Balboa and Eric Paez. The Dodgers signed Rosso for $60,000 on July 2, 2015 after he impressed the club during a tryout.

The Dodgers assigned Rosso to their Dominican Summer League affiliate in June of 2016. Ramón did not progress enough for the club's liking, however, and he was released on July 15th. Rosso then figured to return to Spain to work as a mechanic with his father, but was dissuaded by his former pitching coach Luis Marte, who arranged for Rosso to have a tryout with the Philadelphia Phillies. Marte's plan worked, and Ramón was signed by the Phillies on June 2, 2017.

Rosso's first assignment as a Phillies prospect was with the DSL Phillies, a stop he destroyed by allowing just 4 earned runs in 48 2/3 innings while retiring 69 batters on strikes. Ramón then stopped with the GCL Phillies, where he was equally impressive and saw himself promoted within two weeks. Rosso ended the year with the Williamsport Crosscutters,in the New York-Penn League, where he posted a 3.00 ERA and an 11.5 K/9 in four starts. Rosso's spectacular 2018 season would then prove 2017 was no fluke. He started in the South Atlantic League, a league he torched for a 1.33 ERA en route to Mid-Season All-Star plaudits. Incredibly, five of his twelve appearances at this level saw him throw six innings without allowing an earned run, and in just his second start at the level he mowed down 12 of the 20 West Virginia Power batters he faced on strikes, with top prospects Oneil Cruz and Lolo Sanchez going down a collective 7 times. Rosso was up and down after his promotion to the Clearwater Threshers in the Florida State League, but was overall productive with a 2.91 ERA. Ramón finished the year with a 2.04 ERA in 23 outings (22 starts) and a 10.1 K/9.

Rosso was assigned to the Reading Fightin Phils of the Eastern League to start 2019 and continued to dominate. He did struggle in two outings at Reading's spacious home park, but otherwise did not allow more than a single earned run in any of his 8 other outings, prompting a promotion to the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs in June. Ramón's ascent was slowed a bit upon reaching AAA, as the promotion (probably compounded by the juiced ball used at the level) slowed him down. Rosso was up and down with the IronPigs in 2019, but did still show the stuff that had gotten him to that level from time to time, and in some outings was brilliant. Rosso ended the season with a 4.46 ERA split between the two levels.

After an impressive showing in Spring Training in 2020, Rosso was selected to Philadelphia's Opening Day roster, completing his unorthodox rise to the Majors. Ramón's first outing was in relief of Opening Day starter Aaron Nola on July 24th against the Miami Marlins. Rosso struggled during the outing, allowing two runs (one his own and another an inherited runner credited to Nola) on a hit, a walk, and two wild pitches. Rosso recorded only one out in the outing, striking out Brian Anderson.

Related Sites

• Ramón Rosso on mlb.com
• BR Minors page