Ramos, Bishop big league teammates for a day

February 26th, 2020

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- received a text from Giants Minor League third baseman Jacob Gonzalez on Tuesday morning. It read: “You’re in there today.”

Gonzalez had seen the Giants’ travel roster for the day. And that meant, less than a year after getting drafted, Bishop, MLB Pipeline’s No. 71 overall prospect, would be donning a San Francisco uniform for the first time in his professional career.

Bishop and fellow outfield prospect (the No. 65 overall prospect) both arrived in big league camp at the Giants’ complex at Scottsdale Stadium shortly after 10 a.m. MT. They then joined the rest of San Francisco’s game roster in riding the bus across the valley to Glendale.

“I’m just super grateful,” Bishop said. “That’s pretty much all I’ve got, to be honest. Just to have the opportunity and be able to be given this chance, I’m pretty excited.”

Ramos and Bishop each went 0-for-2 with a strikeout in the Giants’ 4-3 loss to the White Sox at Camelback Ranch, but they impressed manager Gabe Kapler, who said the duo likely will see more Cactus League action.

“Both of those guys had no fear in their eyes in the dugout, and when they got up on the field, they looked comfortable,” Kapler said. “We certainly want to see our young, exciting prospects, and at the same time, we want to be measured about their development and what they need at any given time.”

After a stellar junior season at Arizona State, Bishop was selected by the Giants with the No. 10 pick in last year’s MLB Draft. He then batted .229/.438/.429 with five home runs and 12 RBIs in 32 games between the Arizona Rookie League and Class A Short-Season Salem-Keizer.

Since then, Bishop feels his swing has gotten “quicker.” That’s been his offensive focus as he looks to improve his contact rate from his first taste of pro ball. He struck out 39 times in 146 plate appearances last year.

“Just starting from the top of the zone, working down,” Bishop said. “In college, you’re really allowed to get away with kind of swinging up on the ball. But for me, just trying to stay above the baseball and drive the ball into the gaps is really all I can worry about. So I say quicker just means more efficient.”

This wasn’t the first time that Ramos was brought over to big league camp for a spring game, as he got some Cactus League experience last year. A first-round Draft pick in 2017, Ramos reached two Minors levels for the first time last season, batting .290/.369/.481 with 16 homers and 55 RBIs in 102 games between Double-A Richmond and Class A Advanced San Jose.

Although Ramos had a great offensive season in 2019, he’s still working on improving his approach at the plate, as he hopes to become more disciplined.

“Sometimes I get too greedy and I just want to swing, you know?” Ramos said. “So it’s something for me that I want to do.”

Ramos is only 20 years old, despite having two full seasons of pro experience. Because of that -- and despite not being a non-roster invitee to big league camp -- he believes he could make an impact in the Majors soon.

“This game’s all about confidence. You have to have confidence,” Ramos said. “I know I can be that guy, and I know I can work and can get there.”

Bishop doesn’t yet know which Minor League level he’ll be playing at to open the 2020 season. However, he knows the Giants have no issue promoting players quickly if they show results -- like Ramos has -- which provides plenty of motivation.

“I think it’s been apparent to a lot of the Minor Leaguers that if you perform, you’ll get rewarded,” Bishop said. “People are going to say that they’re not worried about their performance, but I think everybody, as humans, does. If I can just take it day by day and at-bat by at-bat, then, hopefully, something good will turn out.”