Young hitters can struggle with their command of the strike zone. White Sox rookie third baseman Bryan Ramos is not having that issue.
Entering Sunday’s rain-delayed game against the Orioles, Ramos has struck out only four times in 38 plate appearances. While he’s walked just once, Ramos isn’t expanding the zone or swinging at bad pitches. Through Saturday, Ramos has chased on only 18.3% of pitches outside the zone, per Baseball Savant. He’s also making pitchers work, seeing an average of 3.342 pitchers per plate appearance.
“Since I’ve been here I’ve been trying to be as simple as I can at home plate,” Ramos said. “That’s helped me a lot. I’m trying to get a good pitch and hit the ball somewhere.”
Sox manager Pedro Grifol has noticed what Ramos does well. Grifol cited the quickness of Ramos’ hands and strong hand-eye coordination. Perhaps most importantly, there are not a lot of moving parts in Ramos’ swing.
And for a hitter as inexperienced as Ramos, simple is good.
“It’s definitely an asset,” Grifol said. “When you don’t have a lot of moving parts in your swing and you’re consistent the way he is, it puts you in a good spot to hit every single time and the margin for error is minimal. Now all you’ve got to do is make sure that you’re not chasing, you’re swinging at good pitches.”
As for the lack of walks, Ramos isn’t concerned. He figures that if he keeps working counts and being selective, he’ll start drawing more.
“I’m seeing a lot of pitches but I don’t worry about [not walking a lot] yet,” Ramos said. “I just try to hit a good pitch and put the ball in play and hit some hard.”
That last part is a key for Grifol. Because Ramos has such good hand-eye coordination, he could make weak contact on pitches he shouldn’t chase.
For now, that hasn’t been an issue.
“It’s been a pleasant surprise,” Grifol said. “Because when you first get up here, the first five or six games, the league doesn’t really know you, but then they get to know you right away. Now you’ve got the advance scout, the analytics people watching you, everything is happening. They make adjustments quickly. And you can tell, the first week he got pitched very little inside, then he starts getting pitched hard inside. So it’s been a little bit of an adjustment for him.
“He’s done well, he’s done really well.”
Still on track
On the injured list since April 6, Luis Robert Jr. (right hip flexor strain) will continue rehabbing with Triple-A Charlotte. The Knights’ next game is Tuesday in Charlotte against Worcester.
In two rehab games with the Arizona Complex League White Sox, Robert is 1 for 7 with a home run and RBI.
Welcome back
The Sox claimed left-hander Sammy Peralta off waivers from the Mariners. Peralta, 26, is 1-1 with a 9.24 ERA in 12 games for Triple-A Tacoma.
Last season, Peralta appeared in 16 games with the Sox, compiling a 4.05 ERA and striking out 18 in 20 innings. Seattle claimed Peralta off waivers from the Sox on April 2.