Should Agustín Ramírez be a September call-up for the Marlins?

[Ely Sussman]

Ramírez is deserving of strong consideration, but which course of action would be most beneficial to his development and the Marlins organization as a whole? It's admittedly a very tough call.

I don't know what the Miami Marlins should do with Agustín Ramírez during the final month of the 2024 season. Let's talk through the predicament.

Fish On First's fourth-ranked Marlins prospect, Ramírez has been assigned to Triple-A Jacksonville since being acquired in the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade. He has no major league experience, but already holds a spot on the 40-man roster. Ali Sánchez was designated for assignment on Tuesday, leaving Nick Fortes and Jhonny Pereda as the two catchers occupying active roster spots. Designated hitter reps are being split among several players.

Is it time for Ramírez to get his feet wet at the highest level or should the promotion wait until next year?

 

The case for calling up Ramírez

Ramírez has had an excellent season offensively. The soon-to-be 23-year-old has done it while facing much older competition in the upper minors (divided evenly between Double-A and Triple-A). Among all minor leaguers who primarily play catcher, he ranks third with 23 home runs and tied for fifth with 20 stolen bases. He's the only one with at least 20 of both.

He's showing himself to be a consistent, well-rounded hitter. Ramírez owns a 131 wRC+ overall in 2024 (100 represents league average), never dipping below a 94 wRC+ in any individual month. Fatigue is not a concern—his max exit velocity as a Triple-A player (112.6 mph) was just recorded Tuesday night on a single.

 

In April, 11 years into his professional career, Pereda made his major league debut. As heartwarming as that moment was, the Marlins have not at any point considered him to be part of their future plans at the catching position. His current presence on Miami's active roster is to serve as a placeholder while the last-place club plays out the string. There is no downside to promoting Ramírez at his expense. There would also be a bit more playing time available at the DH spot if Jesús Sánchez's back injury proves to be significant. For the moment, it's seemingly a day-to-day issue, but the club has every reason to be cautious with Sánchez at this stage of the season.

With just 26 days left in the regular season, Ramírez's rookie eligibility will roll over into 2025 no matter what. If he makes next year's Opening Day roster and goes on to win the National League Rookie of the Year, he could potentially earn the Marlins an additional MLB Draft pick via the relatively new Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) system. That is contingent on being considered a preseason Top 100 prospect via at least two of Baseball America, MLB.com or ESPN. Ramírez is just outside each Top 100 list right now. His best chance at raising his stock down the stretch would be impressing against MLB opposition.

On the flip side, Ramírez slumping during his first cup of coffee would be innocuous. Each loss brings the Marlins closer to locking in the highest odds of winning the next draft lottery. Getting first-hand experience could help him design an offseason plan tailored toward addressing his deficiencies, begin building relationships with teammates and come into '25 knowing what to expect.

 

The case against calling up Ramírez

Ramírez is struggling behind the plate, particularly in regards to receiving and blocking. It's hard to detect from looking at his individual stats because only 10 of these miscues in 2024 have been scored passed balls, but in every game that I've analyzed Ramírez's defense, including those before and after the trade, he has missed balls that practically any MLB backstop would smother.

For example, here is the "wild pitch" that got past Ramírez on Tuesday, allowing a strikeout victim to reach first base:

Big leaguers collectively throw their pitches harder and spin them with more ferocity than Triple-A hurlers. Catching them would only exacerbate this flaw in Ramírez's skill set. It is not realistic to count on improvement in such a brief sample. Meanwhile, putting him in that situation right now would risk damaging his confidence and frustrating his battery mates.

A Ramírez call-up would take a bite out of Nick Fortes' playing time. The defensive-minded veteran has had an uneven 2024 campaign, looking like a midseason demotion candidate before faring much better during the second half. It's already clear that Ramírez is part of what Miami is building next year. Why not continue to maximize September reps for Fortes to help Marlins decision-makers reach a consensus on whether or not they want him back?

Perhaps Ramírez earning a PPI pick is too much of a pipe dream to bother chasing. The prudent move for a low-revenue franchise would be to delay the start of his major league career until mid-April to ensure club control over him extends through the 2031 season.

 

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It goes without saying that an Agustín Ramírez call-up would make these 51-87 Marlins more interesting for my staff to cover and more compelling for fans to watch. However, the front office doesn't take that into account (nor should they).

To accept Ramírez as the centerpiece of the Chisholm trade, the Marlins must believe he has immense long-term potential. Does a September 2024 debut put him on the best path to realizing that potential, or would it actually hinder his chances? I can see both sides of it.

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[Hans Herrera]

But why not Sanoja, De Los Santos, or even Troy Johnston instead?

Even though the power is undeniable, Ramirez' overall AAA season is not particularly impressive: .239/.341/.396 with 7 HR and 32 RBIs in 229 PAs. That is rather pedestrian to deserve a call-up. Let him continue his development for at least another couple of months, and we'll see next year if he can handle MLB pitching.

Sanoja is my favourite prospect now. He has shown that AAA wasn't a big challenge for him. He has played now a full season with the Jumbo Shrimp (478 PAs) while playing 2B/CF/SS! His .287/.352/.428 is solid indeed, and while he probably won't ever hit 10 HRs in the Majors, his OPS and gap power (30 doubles - JAX leader) are worth taking a look at.

What are Otto López and Cristian Pache still holding a spot on the roster?

DLS has hit 8 HRs in 90 ABs for Jacksonville, good for a .469 SLG. He can play good 1B, something the Fish have been missing all year long (recognising Bride has been a pleasant surprise).

There is honestly NOTHING else to say about Johnston but to ask, what is that thing preventing him from the big league call? He isn't hitting like last year, but he definitely deserves a cup of coffee, at least until Jesús is back on the roster.

Between one of the latter two, "Hamburguesa", and Bride should rotate the 3B-1B-DH tandem for the rest of the year.

[THOMAS JOSEPH]

Information article, as promised on the podcast last night. It appears that the Marlins are leaving him in Jax to finish up.  Hmm. I watched the Marlins game last night, with one eye, with the Jumbo Shrimp game from here in Louisville on my phone. Ramirez does need work, but a month of MLB time has no on-field ramifications for the Marlins, as you noted. In that realm, I don't get Pereda over Ramirez. Oh, well. The weather has been delightful in Louisville, so I'm going to the game tonight, checking on the Marlins periodically because I can't help myself! 

[Ely Sussman]

24 minutes ago, THOMAS JOSEPH said:

The weather has been delightful in Louisville, so I'm going to the game tonight, checking on the Marlins periodically because I can't help myself! 

That means you get to witness an Adam Mazur start. He's been brilliant the last 2 times.

If Bellozo struggles again for the big league team, I think it's a real possibility that they swap places next week.

[Ely Sussman]

5 hours ago, Hans Herrera said:

What are Otto López and Cristian Pache still holding a spot on the roster?

There is honestly NOTHING else to say about Johnston but to ask, what is that thing preventing him from the big league call?

I fully agree on Pache: he brings nothing interesting to the table. Otto is in a different category. While he clearly is not going to be an everyday player moving forward, it is worth continuing to gather info on him. Sometime before next season begins, a choice likely needs to be made between him and Bruján for a single spot.

Unfortunately, Troy's oblique injury is believed to be season-ending. Sounds as though the team wasn't interested in using him anyway, but the injury officially shut the door.

[THOMAS JOSEPH]

On 9/4/2024 at 10:46 AM, Ely Sussman said:

That means you get to witness an Adam Mazur start. He's been brilliant the last 2 times.

If Bellozo struggles again for the big league team, I think it's a real possibility that they swap places next week.

Yes, and I think Bellozo is safe!  Ugh. I left at the 7th inning stretch with the Shrimp down 6-0!  It's always a good time at Slugger Field, though - no complaints. I may sneak in another one while Jax is in town.  Cheers.