Alex Ramirez, Photo by Ed Delany of MMN
Alex Ramirez just will not slow down. The now 19 year-old has continued his hot start in St. Lucie over the first twenty games of the season. Ramirez is slashing .365/.402/.542 with eight doubles, three triples, one homer, and 10 RBI along with two stolen bags over the course of his first 102 plate appearances.
Most notably, Ramirez has cut his strikeout rate substantially. The center fielder struck out just over 31% of the time last year, but has cut that rate down to around 20% just over a month into 2022. He’s done that while hitting for power to all fields:
Alex Ramírez just missed his first home run of the year. Still a hard double off the wall in right at 99 mph.
Despite a tough stretch recently, Ramírez is still hitting .383 for St. Lucie. pic.twitter.com/ts4H6Fjk4X
— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) April 28, 2022
According to his FanGraphs player profile, the power is the one tool for Ramirez that is still pretty far off. The scouting report on him projects 55 grade in-game power, but currently has him ranked at 20 grade. Despite that, we continue to see him post exit velocities of 100+ MPH.
Mets 19 year old OF prospect Alex Ramírez gets on the board with his first home run of the year for St. Lucie.
104 mph off the bat, over the left field concourse. He knew it. pic.twitter.com/uryNFcvTKP
— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) May 1, 2022
Ramirez figures to at worst be a decent outfield glove with speed and raw power. However, at just 19, there is no reason to assume he can not make the strides needed to make take the next step in his game.
The combination of speed, power, hit tool, and defense has Ramirez poised to shoot up several top prospect list this summer when mid-season lists are released. The 19 year old will likely be moved to Brooklyn as we get deeper into the season, but there is no rush considering that he is a little over two years younger than the average Florida State League player.
Ramirez is building off a strong 2021, in which he cracked his first Top-1oo prospect list at The Athletic. He figures to have the potential to be a long-term CF, which is a type of prospect the Mets have not had in a very long time.
