HAN RAM
Bryan Smith has pegged promising Red Sox shortstop Hanley Ramirez 18th on his Top 75 prospect list over at Wait Til Next Year.
18. Hanley Ramirez - SS - Boston Red Sox- 21
Everyone I read says that Hanley Ramirez will hit for power one day, and I don’t deny that fact at all. The more and more removed from the shoulder injury, the more and more power Hanley started to hit. Six of his eight FSL doubles were in his last fifteen games there, and his Eastern League performance was solid. What was interesting about his power in the Eastern League was that it was confined to an 11 game stretch in the middle in which he hit seven extra-base hits, and in his last six games, with six extra-base hits. In the other 15 games, all you have to show is one double. Hanley has consistency with his average, strikeout numbers (about 16-17%), walks, he just now needs the power to be consistent. He’ll always be more gap power than anything else, but 15-25 home runs a year is definitely not out of the picture. Now the Red Sox must decide whether they want that at second base, or want the fruits of what trading Hanley would provide.
Go check out the rest of the list. Bryan has done some excellent work.