Mariners Prospect No. 24: Erasmo Ramirez

Published February 1, 2012 | By Casey McLain

Erasmo Ramirez, RHP, Tacoma Rainiers (AAA, 27.1 years old on average in 2011)

5-11, 180 lbs, 22 years old

Bats: Right, Throws: Right

Acquired: International Signing (2007)

ETA: 2013

Ramirez gained fame and fanfare when he put up a video-game-like 0.51 ERA in the Venezuelan League in his second year of pro ball in 2009. He walked only five batters of 88.0 innings, and was 11-1 in 14 appearances. He again did pretty well in Clinton, where he pitched 151.2 innings and walked only 21, while striking out 6.9 per nine innings. He came back down to earth in 2011, when he was beat around AA and AAA a bit, allowing 178 hits over 152.2 innings. He boasts a generally unimpressive repertoire of a low-90s fastball and a decent changeup. Ramirez has been promoted aggressively since coming stateside though, and it’s worth noting that he was about six years younger than the average pitcher in AAA in 2011. His command is definitely impressive, but it may not translate into MLB success if his strikes are hittable. He’s statistically similar to Doug Fister, but at only 5-11, he’ll have a hard time generating as many grounders as Fister.

Potential (of 40): 10

Probability of Success (of 30): 20

Positional value (of 20): 10

Character (of 10): 10

OVERALL: 50

Check out the rest of the Mariners Top 25 Prospects.

Casey McLain

Casey is the founder of North and South of Royal Brougham. He's also a senior writer and marketing director at fantasyfootballjungle.com, and has done some work for walterfootball.com. Most importantly though, Casey is a big fan of baseball, football, basketball, red meat, a homebrewer, and a fan of assertively hopped Northwest IPAs.