SAN FRANCISCO — When Heliot Ramos visited Oracle Park as a 17-year-old after the 2017 MLB Draft, he smiled and said he hoped to return in three years. Confidence has never been an issue for Ramos, but still, there has been a different look on him during his last stint in the Major Leagues.
Ramos hit leadoff for the first time Sunday, a reward for his continued production at a time when Bob Melvin doesn’t know what he’ll get from most of his hitters on a daily basis. The move paid off immediately, with Ramos hitting a solo home run and driving in two more runs with a single.
It was a lineup change that took a few days to come together, as Luis Matos’ strong start is now in the rearview mirror. Matos has struggled in the two weeks since he was named National League Player of the Week, and on Sunday, Melvin defeated two young outfielders who helped bring the Giants back to life in May.
For a couple of weeks, it seemed like neither of them would ever return to the minors. There’s a little more uncertainty about it now, with Michael Conforto set to return from a rehab assignment and Austin Slater not far behind.
Conforto believes he will return to play a key role immediately. But Melvin hasn’t sounded in recent days like someone eager to take at-bats away from Ramos, a player he didn’t know very well before this latest outburst. Ramos was released very early in the spring, but he was one of Triple-A’s best players in April and in 23 games in the majors he is hitting .286 with a .795 OPS.
“I think this has to be his best work at the major league level and he’s very inspired,” Melvin said on Monday’s Giants Talk Podcast. “Every day he looked like he was having fun, and it’s easy to say that, especially when you’re playing well, but whether it’s defensively (where) he’s had some impactful plays for us, offensively he’s had some impact.” He plays every day and it seems like he has a lot of energy with this opportunity and he’s taking advantage of it.”
Ramos had just 76 at-bats during his call-ups the previous two seasons, and at times it seemed like the Giants were almost doing everything they could to not give him a look. At the end of last season, it was Ramos who received the one-day option to free up a roster spot for the return and release of Brandon Crawford, and this spring he was sent to minor league camp during one of the first rounds of cuts. March 11, long before other young prospects hoping to fight for roster spots.
Ramos went to Triple-A and did what he had to do, and he said the confidence has remained.
“There are no excuses, no buts or anything like that. I just have to do the job and try to do it as best as possible,” he said. “The mindset is different. I’m just being positive, staying positive all the time, having a good mindset all the time and having a plan all the time and never going off of that.”
To the outside world it might seem like Ramos has always had that mentality. He has been positive since that first day back in 2017, but admitted that “saying it and believing it are two different things,” something he had to learn after struggles in the big leagues.
“It takes time and it took a little while,” he said. “But I feel like I’m in a good place right now.”
Part of that mentality changed in the offseason when Ramos became a father for the first time and said his daughter had helped him maintain perspective after difficult games. The physical tools have always been there for the 24-year-old, but he credits hitting coach Justin Viele and baseball operations analyst Mario Ferretti for being instrumental in helping him maintain a solid focus and make adjustments.
While Ramos still strikes out too much, he ranks well above average in metrics like exit velocity and hard-hit percentage, and he’s balancing some of those strikeouts with a solid walk rate. Ramos also ranks slightly above average in left field.
Ramos was selected as a center fielder, but the staff no longer sees him as a real option there. That should benefit Matos, who was just 3-for-24 at home. When Conforto returns, the Giants can occasionally slide Ramos to right field and have Mike Yastrzemski play center. They could also use Conforto as the designated hitter given Jorge Soler’s continued struggles.
It’s a puzzle, but Melvin will happily solve it. Too often this season, he seemed to have a shortage of logical lineup options. While Conforto was advancing early last week, the Giants lost LaMonte Wade Jr. to his own hamstring injury, a blow that put even more pressure on the young outfielders trying to fill the top spot of the lineup. Melvin said there have been “goods and bads” during this prospect-led stretch.
“It’s good the fact that you can see guys and guys get opportunities,” he said. “But we also have some (injured) guys that we acquired in the offseason because we hope they’re in the lineup. It’s a little bit of a balance. I’d like to be able to get some guys back and I think we’re going to have some guys back here real soon.” and I think that’s a good thing, but we haven’t really fallen much in terms of our position in the standings.
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