At such an early point in the season, big league promotions are often predicated on need rather than a player's production. Pedro Ramírez is doing his best to test that notion.
The Cubs' No. 8 prospect continued his torrid start with a homer, four hits and a career-high five RBIs to lead Triple-A Iowa to a wild 11-10 win in 10 innings over Columbus on Thursday afternoon at Huntington Park.
Ramírez, who also swiped two bases and scored twice, finished the contest with 19 RBIs and stands tied for second in the Minors behind Dodgers prospect Ryan Fitzgerald with 21.
Interestingly, three of the 22-year-old's hits would barely net a speeding ticket. He kicked off his afternoon by beating out a 56.4 mph infield single to first base in the opening frame, scoring James Triantos (CHC No. 9) with the first run of the game.
Ramírez took advantage of the chance to flex his muscles in his next at-bat against Guardians right-hander Ryan Webb in the next frame. The Venezuela native clubbed an 80.9 mph changeup for a three-run jack -- his fifth of the season -- over the fence in left-center field.
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Ramírez capped his afternoon with two more infield singles -- both with 64.9 mph exit velos -- including a 10-inning safety that scored Brett Bateman (CHC No. 20) with what proved to be the winning run. Outside of his 101.9 mph long ball, Ramírez's exit velos averaged a shade more than 65 mph on his other hits. Ironically, his ninth-inning lineout was his hardest hit ball of the afternoon at 107.9 mph.
Ramirez has been one of the most consistent hitters in the Minors to start 2026, reaching safely in all but three of the 16 games he's appeared in. Ramírez has already notched six multihit games and has been especially hot since the calendar flipped to April, slashing .365/.411/.692 with nine extra-base hits, 16 RBIs and six stolen bases in 12 games.
His early-season performance is a continuation of what the Cubs saw during Spring Training. The 5-foot-9, 165-pounder doesn't fit the prototypical slugger mold, but he packs a punch and opened plenty of eyes during Cactus League play. Ramírez hit .367 with a 1.065 OPS with two homers -- including a grand slam -- four extra-base hits, 12 RBIs, five stolen bases, four walks and only one strikeout in 37 plate appearances.
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“He’s clearly shown that he is strong enough to hit home runs and hits the ball hard enough to hit home runs," Cubs manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com last month. "He’s a good hitter. He can learn and maybe kind of come into his power.”
Counsell's words appear prescient, at least in the early going. Ramírez's five roundtrippers are three fewer than the career-high eight he clubbed in 2023 at Single-A Myrtle Beach and matched last year at Double-A Knoxville, where he established personal bests in numerous offensive categories.
One thing Ramírez and the Cubs will be looking for as 2026 moves forward revolves around that consistency. While his overall numbers were solid last year, he did scuffle in July and August after a strong first half. But opening the eyes of team execs and the big league skipper, in particular, is a great way to kick off his campaign.
“I’ve had multiple guys on the 26-man roster sing Pedro’s praises,” Counsell said last month. “Pedro should be proud of that.”