While the New York Mets have plenty of intriguing infield prospects, the outfield isn’t nearly as stacked. The trades of Jarred Kelenic and Pete Crow-Armstrong removed two of the Mets’ top outfielders from the farm system, forcing the big club to spend big in free agency to fill those holes on the active roster. The Met sdo have one interesting outfield prospect on the way, however, in Alex Ramirez, who is the focus of this week’s edition of Minor League Mondays.
Ramirez, 20, was a high-priced international free agent for the Mets in 2019 after receiving a signing bonus just over $2 million. The Mets have been aggressive with Ramirez since the minor leagues restarted after the pandemic wiped out the 2020 season, beginning him at Low-A St. Lucie and keeping him in full season ball ever since. Ramirez began 2023 with High-A Brooklyn, the same level he ended last season at, and is doing a good job in the early going.
In 44 games for the Cyclones this season Ramirez is hitting .260 with four home runs and 26 RBIs in 169 at bats. Ramirez has a solid OPS of .731 but hasn’t run as much as he did last season, stealing just four bases in five attempts over the first two months after racking up 21 steals between St. Lucie and Brooklyn last summer.
Scouts are very high on Ramirez, who is currently ranked as the Mets’ second-best prospect according to MLB.com, due to his incredible athleticism. Ramirez stands 6-foot-3 and is extremely fast, allowing him to become an elite defender in center field. There is also plenty of room for the wiry Ramirez to grow into his frame, allowing him to potentially translate some of his doubles into homers as he enters the upper levels of the minor leagues.
The Mets do have Brandon Nimmo signed to an eight-year deal as their center fielder but the odds are high that he will need to move to a corner at some point in the future. That creates a long-term opening for Ramirez, who will likely spend most of this year at Brooklyn before a late-season promotion to AA Binghamton. The ideal path for the Mets would be to see Ramirez ready to make the majors as a 22-year old in 2025, when Starling Marte is in the final year of his contract, as a corner outfielder before moving to center at some point afterwards.
The Mets will need to add Ramirez to their 40-man roster in the offseason but that is going to happen since he is a key part of the organization’s long-term plans. Ramirez is a bit further away than some of the team’s other top prospects but he has as high a ceiling as anyone in the Mets’ farm system.
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