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Filed under: Strategy
Not unlike many baseball analysts, I take everything that happens during spring training with a grain of salt. That said, I don’t believe you can write off EVERYTHING like some experts suggest, as you can get a pretty strong idea about roles, both now and in the future. Prior to the White Sox first spring contest, I was already mildly intrigued by Cuban defector Alexei Ramirez.
When Ramirez became an international free agent, fellow Cuban and White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras urged the team to consider him. The 26-ish year old (as a defector his age is something of a gray area) sure made an impression in his first major league action, going 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles, three runs, and one RBI against the Rockies on Thursday.
“All the coaches around the national team I played for in Cuba told me I could play at this level,” Ramirez told the Chicago Tribune after his first workout this spring. The early results this spring certainly suggest those coaches were right.
“A lot of people say it means nothing,” manager Ozzie Guillen added. “It might mean a lot to him, his first game in the [major leagues] and the way he performed.”
Ramirez led the Cuban pro league in homers last season as an outfielder (he has experience at 2B and SS), and while he projects to be more of a gap hitter in the majors, that was enough reason for the Pale Hose to give him a look when they failed to sign a major league free agent such as Torii Hunter. Reports out of camp claim he looks much leaner than his 6′ 1″ and 180 pounds would suggest, but there is a general sense of intrigue over his athleticism, drive to be successful, and powerful swing that draws comparisons to another Chicago favorite, Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano.
That’s obviously not a fair comparison at this point in his young career, but it speaks volumes about his potential if he can win a regular role with the team. He will see better off-speed pitches and overall talent at the major league level and that is bound to produce some hiccups, but he’s a guy fantasy owners should keep an eye on. Why?
Consider that he’s currently No. 1 on the Sox’s depth chart at second base over at MLB.com and his only competition is Danny Richar (who was delayed in getting to camp with visa issues), and veterans Pablo Ozuna and Juan Uribe. The stiffest competition figures to come from Uribe who despite hitting 20 or more long balls in each of the last two seasons, has failed to hit over .235 in either season and whiffed 112 in 513 at bats last season. No team wants to admit their ceiling is limited in the coming season, but the White Sox aren’t projected to be a playoff team, which should suggest they consider the significant potential of the young Cuban versus the average (at best) production they figure to get from the alternatives. If it seems as though he’ll get a decent number of at bats this season, fantasy owners should still only consider him as an option in keeper league formats.
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[…] you missed my post earlier this spring on White Sox youngster Alexei Ramirez, you should check it out. At that point in camp it was far from certain that he would have a regular role with the team or […]
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