New Atlanta Braves Reliever Jose Ramirez

New Atlanta Braves Right Hander Jose Ramirez

Who Is He?

Jose Ramirez was signed in 2007 by the New York Yankees out of the Dominican Republic. He started his career in the Dominican Summer League in 2008, pitching in 12 games, 10 starts, throwing 39 innings, with a 4.15 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and an 18/39 BB/K ratio.

The Yankees brought him stateside in 2009, and he pitched most of his year for the Yankees Gulf Coast League team, making one relief appearance for the high-A team in Tampa. Combined, he had 12 appearances, 10 of them starts, hurling 64 innings, accumulating a 1.41 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, and a 16/55 BB/K ratio. He missed time to an oblique injury, something that would become a pattern in his career.

The Yankees moved the now-20-year-old to full season ball in 2010, and he spent the full season in Charleston. He went 6-5 with a 3.60 ERA over 22 appearances (21 starts) and 115 innings. He also tallied a 1.29 WHIP and a 42/105 BB/K.

He started 2011 back in Charleston, and he struggled in his second time through before being promoted to high-A Tampa, where he really blew up. Over a combined 21 games (all starts), he threw 103 1/3 innings, racking up a 5.66 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP with a 43/99 BB/K.

He spent all of his 2012 at high-A Tampa, fighting injuries to make 21 appearances, 18 of them starts. He had a 3.19 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 30/94 BB/K over 98 2/3 innings. He missed multiple chunks of time in the season, which is a big reason he didn’t move up in the system.

The Yankees moved him to AA Trenton in 2013, and he responded well, earning a mid-season promotion to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Once again, he missed multiple starts, only making 17 appearances, 16 of them starts. He totaled 73 2/3 innings, with a 3.67 ERA and 1.26 WHIP and a 36/78 BB/K

After waiting for over half a decade for him to move up the system as a starter, the Yankees moved Ramirez to the bullpen in 2014, starting him back in AAA. He wasn’t able to get onto the field until mid-May due to an oblique injury, but his minor league numbers were solid, with 9 appearances and 12 1/3 innings. He sported a 1.46 ERA, but he also had a 1.87 WHIP and a 10/16 BB/K ratio. Ramirez was also called up to the majors, and he pitched in 8 games, throwing 10 innings, accumulating a 5.40 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, and 7/10 BB/K.

Next: Ramirez's scouting report

In 2015, Ramirez finally was able to stay healthy for a full season of relief, and he started out excellent with AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre again, but he was on the train between SWB and the Yankees multiple time in the early season. He threw 32 games for SWB, totaling a 2.90 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 23/56 BB/K over 49 2/3 innings. For the Yankees, he didn’t fare so wall, tallying a 15.00 ERA and 3.33 WHIP over 3 IP with a 4/2 BB/K ratio. He was part of the midseason trade the Yankees made to acquire Dustin Ackley, and he struggled both in AAA Tacoma, throwing 13 innings of 9 ERA and 1.77 WHIP with a 7/10 BB/K. He also pitched for the Mariners in the majors, making 5 appearances, totaling 4 2/3 innings of 11.57 ERA, 3.21 WHIP, and 6/3 BB/K. All told, he threw 41 games in AAA in 2015, throwing 62 2/3 innings with a 4.16 ERA and 1.37 WHIP with a 30/66 BB/K. Combined in the majors, he combined for a 12.91 ERA and 3.26 WHIP over 8 games and 7 2/3 innings, with a 10/5 BB/K.

Jose Ramirez Scouting Report

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Ramirez is 6’3 and listed at 190. He had a growth spurt after signing, so he certainly looks all of 6’3 and maybe a few pounds heavier than the 190, but he’s certainly lanky. I took a look at 6 of his appearances, 2 each from April, July, and August. In those appearances, he threw 11 innings, with a 5.73 ERA and 1.36 WHIP along with an 8/15 BB/K ratio.

His delivery is quick and he pitches quickly, not allowing the batter much time to get comfortable in the box. He pitches now exclusively from the stretch, and when he reaches the apex of his delivery, he pulls back his left hip just a touch, seemingly generating a touch more velocity. From that tucked-in hip position, he explodes forward, launching himself at the batter.

His arm slot is really best described as 5/8. He’s definitely below 3/4, but not true sidearm. Notable in his landing is that his lurch forward from his delivery apex is powerful, but also inconsistent. His landing spot is not consistent at all, and that he struggles with his command is really no surprise in watching his mechanics.

He utilizes three pitches in his arsenal. His fastball sits in the 93-95 range out of the bullpen, peaking at 98. He has some strong arm side run, especially in the middle of the zone, which really plays well against lefties as the ball starts waist-high on the outside edge and moves out of reach as the lefty hitter flails helplessly. His changeup is his best pitch, matching his mechanics perfectly with his fastball and coming in as a hard change, running around 84-85 in the games I watched. This pitch also has good arm side run, but also some excellent fade low and away to lefties as well, allowing Ramirez to be tough on both righties and lefties. His slider is inconsistent, but when it’s on, it has a late pure drop. When he’s struggling, it slurves to one side or the other without a ton of bite. The slider runs about 82-83, and I noted that he frequently fell off toward first base when finishing a slider. His inconsistent legs seem to hurt the slider most of all.

Next: 2016 outlook

Ramirez works best when he’s pounding the arm side part of the zone from belt and below. The movement he gets is very difficult for right-handed hitters to handle inside, and the ball moves away from left-handed hitters. It’s easy to understand the oblique issues when watching his delivery as well. With that explosion forward, if his foot lands off just a touch, he leaves himself wide open, relying on his trunk and lower back to generate all of his velocity, which is certainly going to over-stress anyone’s obliques.