Third-Ranked Prospect Pedro Ramirez Called Up To Make MLB Debut, Here's The Scouting Report On Him

On Friday afternoon, the Chicago Cubs called up infielder Pedro Ramirez to the major league roster, rewarding the youngster's breakout season. Ramirez has enjoyed one of the best starts to the system of any Cub, regardless of level, and now he'll take his talents to the North Side. But what are the Cubs getting in their newest addition? 

Pedro Ramirez Strengths

The first thing that stands out for Pedro Ramirez is his contact rates. His "worst" strikeout rate was 17.1% and came in his first real taste of Myrtle Beach. Since then, he's hovered in the 15-16% range regardless of where he hit; this is a massive green flag for the infielder. What's even better is that despite Ramirez clearly adding more pop to his game in 2026 (he's already set a career high for home runs through May), he's done so while maintaining a really excellent 16.3 K%. More home runs and all the same contact ability are a great start.

Another positive is that Ramirez has some excellent batted ball data. He's on the small side; however, he maintains some strong exit velocity data as he sits around the 75th (or better) percentile for things such as his exit velocity and max-EV. Even his barrel rate and pull-air% are strong for a hitter who swings more than average, as many times, players who tend to make a lot of contact and swing a lot have a tendency to make more weak contact. 

As it pertains to pitch-level data, Ramirez has excelled at hitting many different types of pitches, none more so than his ability to mash fastballs on the season. He has just a 10.9 whiff% on the pitch to go along with a .377 wOBA. Because he's a switch-hitter, he's capable of taking away pitchers' offerings that would normally neutralize a hitter who can only hit from one side of the plate. We can see this in how much damage he's done on sinkers and sliders; both pitches he's currently got a wOBA over .400 against. He has very few pitch-level weaknesses currently, giving him a more rounded approach at the plate.

While Ramirez is a switch-hitter, it's his left-handed swing that carries the day. When facing righties, Ramirez shows off much more pop in his bat. He's just more athletic from the left side and is able to hit the ball better. This isn't anything that is special about the infielder, as most hitters have a "better" side (i.e., Ian Happ is much better left-handed than right-handed most years). While the right-handed swing is fine, it's his ability to hit RHP that will likely be the carrying factor.

Defensively, Ramirez won a minor league gold glove as a third baseman last season and has been showing some versatility lately as the Iowa Cubs have given him some work in the outfield. It's unlikely he's a capable shortstop, but second, third, left, and right field all seem on the table, giving him solid versatility and multiple pathways into being a successful MLB player.

Pedro Ramirez Weaknesses

Pedro Ramirez is a bit of a free swinger, and will likely face some "hyper-aggressive" adjustments not dissimilar to issues Matt Shaw and Moises Ballesteros have faced upon their callups. Ramirez has a tendency to chase pitches while still making a lot of contact, and MLB pitchers are far more capable of attacking this weakness than Triple-A arms. It shouldn't surprise anyone if he "gets himself out" on some weak ground balls for a while as he learns "just because I can hit it doesn't mean I should". 

If there's one pitch he's seemingly struggled on this year, it's the sweeper. He has his lowest batting average (.182) and wOBA (.301) on this offering. He tends to expand the most on sweepers (with an o-swing% over 30%) and his highest whiff% on the year. No one is perfect, but this seems like a pitch potential veterans may look to exploit more. 

As noted earlier, Ramirez tends to struggle more with his right-handed swing. He doesn't hit the ball nearly as hard, doesn't pull the ball nearly as much, and doesn't appear to have the natural feel for it. The positive is that he makes up for a lack of power with a lot of contact and a bit better zone-awareness, but continuing to refine his right-handed swing would make him go from promising to downright dangerous.

Ramirez's Fit With Cubs

Pedro Ramirez is being called up to take Matt Shaw's position for the time being, though his fit will be a little different. Swinging better from the left side means that he won't so easily fit Shaw's best offensive aspect, his ability to hit left-handed pitchers, but will provide much of the same versatility in defensive positions and base running that will be lost.

This is an exciting call-up and one that probably wasn't on many people's radar a few months ago, but it's well deserved. Ramirez has hit at every single level he's been at and been young for his competition, and we all (myself included) have likely slept on him. With him breaking out due to his increase in home runs, he's gone from a prospect who was likely slept on to someone who looks like he could be a true MLB regular, and it will be exciting to see him get his first taste of the Show this weekend in Wrigley.