Around The BSA: Spec Spotlight: SP Jose Ramos

Gainesville, FL (AP) - In a new PR series H'ville's owner Travis Hays will be sending his All Legendary scout Nathan Gray around the league to scout some of the BSA's top upcoming specs while Hays catches up with the owners for some inside info.

"Mad Dog"

First up on the docket is one of Hays' personal favorite SP spec in all of BSA, Jersey Shore's  top spec in his loaded farm system, Mr. Jose "Mad Dog" Ramos.

"Mad Dog" was discovered in The Dominican Republic by Jersey's scouting team just prior to the start of the 2013 season.  As a raw 18-year old he started the year for Jersey's A ball team the Manhatten Meatheads and simply dominated with a 1.65 ERA, 0.90 WHIP,2.40 FIP,.181 OppBA, 138 ERA+, 78 K's to 22 BBs, 93.2 IP in 13 starts which 11 were good enough for QS.  Reading those stats you would expect a far better record than the 3-6 he posted (wins are overrated), but he did his job and did it well.


Despite his dominance as a SP in single A, once he was promoted to the AA Gainesville Guidos he was moved to the CL role upon the suggestion by Manager Ryan Green.  Green not know for his pitching teaching talent (Avg, 9) might have gotten that wrong as Ramos struggled in his new role putting up a horrible 6.26 ERA, 1.83 WHIP,5.80 FIP,.288 OppBA, 65 ERA+ and only a 24 K's to 18 BB's along with a 1-4 record and 10 Saves in 29 games and 27.1 IP.

The Guido's pitching coach Afellan Munanire (Outstanding, 18) saw how bad "Mad Dog" was struggling and  noticed him playing around with a very raw changeup one day while throwing side sessions on his off day.  Munanire encouraged "Mad Dog" to throw the changup more often and was moved back to the starting rotation for the 2014 season where he went 6-14, 4.49 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 4.77 FIP, .266 OppBA, 83 ERA+, 84 K's to 52 BB's and 158.1 IP in 26 GS

Last off-season Munanire showed Ramos a slight tweak in his grip with the changeup and it has made a big difference this season as his K/BB, BB/9 and K/9 have all improved.  Ramos is 3-6 (this kid can't get any wins) with a 3.76 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.10 FIP, .268 OppBA, 107 ERA+, 59 K's to a mere 14 BB's in 81.1 IP and 11 GS.

When I asked Jersey Shore D-Bag's owner Josh Swain what pitcher in the BSA does Ramos project to be like he said, "Looking at his makeup right now scouts have told us his ceiling is that of Carlos Clemente which we find to be a helleva comparison.  If he becomes anything close to "Prince" we would be ecstatic."


When asked about his expected timetable hit the BSA Swain had this to say, "You know as good as everyone else that I don't rush my players.  He just turned 20 this past week. He has taken a step in the right direction this year and might get a few AAA starts towards the end of the year.  Next season unless he completely dominates AAA hitters we won't even think of moving him up.  The earliest we will probably see him in the BSA would be Late 2016, but a more reasonable expectation is ST 2017 to see how he fares.  He would still be a few months from his 22nd birthday at the time, so age wise there is no rush."


Nathan Gray Scout Breakdown
Age: 20
Ht/Wt: 5'11, 205 lbs
Throws: Righty
Overall Rating: 2.0 Stars
Potential Rating: 4.5 Stars
Stuff Potential: 12  
Above average stuff for a kid of his age, tops out at around 90-92.  Fastball isn't too straight, and he changes speeds nicely.  Needs to trust his catcher a little bit more.
Movement Potential: 15 
Top-notch movement on all his pitches.  Even when he's tired, his pitches are all sti1l heavy in the zone. His breaking stuff is particularly hard to handle.   Saw him break 3 bats in a row once.
Control Potential: 17 
The sort of control that scouts and coaches drool about. He makes it look effortless out there.  The ball simply goes where he wants it to, end of story.
Summary:  If his repertoire develops as everyone expects, he's going to be a front-of-the-rotation starter for years to come.