Travis Talks prospect list: Prospect #4

I am sorry that I was not able to bring you the latest player in the prospect list yesterday, but I will make up for it by bringing you players 4 and 3 on my list. I hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think of my choices by leaving a comment in the comment box or emailing me at travis_aune@yahoo.com. Thanks alot for reading.

4. Wilson Ramos C 21 (8/10/1987)

2008 teams: Fort Myers Miracle

• Wilson Ramos was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 2004 out of Venezuela as a 16 year old kid. Wilson spent the rest of 2004 and the 2005 seasons playing for the Dominican Summer League Twins. In 2006 Wilson came over to the states and played with the GCL Twins. At GCL in 46 games Wilson hit .286 with 3 homeruns and 26 rbi's along with 12 doubles and a triple for an ops of .774. In 2007 Ramos moved up to Class A Beloit where he spent the entire year there hitting .291 in 73 games with 8 homeruns and 42 rbi's along with 17 doubles and a triple for an ops of .783. In 2008 Ramos moved up to high A Fort Myers where he also had a solid year. In 126 games with the Miracle Wilson hit .288 with 13 homeruns and 78 rbi's along with 23 doubles and 2 triples for an ops of .780. A cause for concern though was in 452 at bats Ramos only walked 37 times and struck out 103 times which is too many and not enough walks. This year Ramos moved up to New Britain and in a word to describe his year would be injuries. A broken finger and now a pulled hamstring have caused Wilson Ramos to spend most of the season on the disabled list. In only 36 games Wilson is hitting .308 with 3 homeruns and 18 rbi's along with 9 doubles for an ops of .770. In 133 at bats he has really improved the strikeouts as he has only 15 strikeouts, but the walk total continues to be an issue as he has only walked 3 times in 133 at bats. Wilson Ramos is by far the top catching prospect in the organization and if it were not for Joe Mauer being with the Twins he would get more props than he does. If Mauer was not with the Twins there would be clammoring for Ramos to be up with the Twins, but as long as Mauer is with the Twins Ramos will not get the chance to play everyday with the Twins. At only 21 years old Ramos is way young for his level and won't be 22 until August. He possesses a very good arm and calls a terrific game. He can hit for average, and has a little pop in his bat as the 13 homeruns last year at Fort Myers would indicate. Hopefully, the injury problems he is facing this year won't slow him down too much. The thing that Wilson needs to work on is being more disciplined at the plate because as he keeps moving if he swings at everything his average will go down so I would like to see his walk rate go up. So far this year he has done alot better making contact as his 103 strikeouts last year were too many. Those 2 things are the main things I think he needs to work on, but there is so much talent there that I can just about guarantee you that he will be in the big leagues by 2011 if not sooner. The question is with Joe Mauer with the Twins atleaast through next year will it be with the Twins? It wouldn't surprise me for the Twins to use Ramos as a negotiating ploy with Mauer's agent because if we lost Mauer we would have a very good catcher to replace him with. Is he as good as Joe Mauer well the answer is no because there is only 1 Joe Mauer, but is Wilson Ramos good enough to be a very good starting catcher in the big leagues that answer is YES! It will be interesting to see what happens with that, but make no mistake about it whether it is with the Twins or if the Twins trade Ramos Wilson Ramos will be a future starting catcher in the major leagues sooner rather than later.


• 2009: Try to stay healthy and catch for New Britain


• Projection: I project Wilson Ramos as a starting catcher who will be around for 15+ years and be a very good offensive catcher.