The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Oakland A’s have completed the trade for right-handed pitcher Tanner Anderson made last week. The Pirates have acquired 18-year-old right-handed pitcher Wilkin Ramos as the player to be named later in the deal.
Ramos made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League this season. He had a 3.15 ERA in 40 innings over eight starts and six relief appearances. Ramos had a 38:17 SO/BB ratio, with a 1.40 WHIP, a .260 BAA and a 1.78 GO/AO ratio. Judging from his size, there appears to be a lot of projection, with a 6’5″ frame, though he is listed at just 165 pounds.
Baseball America called him the best pitcher signed by the Oakland A’s in 2017, though they were capped at $300,000 (which is what he received) due to previous penalties for going over their cap. At the time of his signing, he was hitting 90 MPH, but has shown a slight increase according to Ben Badler, who also noted that Ramos has quick arm speed, a solid delivery and a slider with good movement.
This looks like a projection pickup, who is still far away from the majors, but could be a very nice acquisition for the Pirates if he reaches his ceiling. He will most likely be in the U.S. in 2019 at a short-season level and he just turned 18 years old a month ago, so he has plenty of time to fill out that large frame.
John Eshleman, who works for 2080 Baseball and has been a contributor here in the past, took this video of Ramos in October in Arizona:
