Tag: joskairo ramirez

Red Sox prospect Joskairo Ramirez cracks Baseball America’s 2026 Dominican Summer League rankings

When Minor League Baseball unveiled its 2026 rookie-level All-Stars and award winners last month, the Red Sox were completely shut out of Florida Complex League and Dominican Summer League honors.

Last week, however, Baseball America’s Josh Norris included one member of the Red Sox organization in his ranking of the top 35 Dominican Summer League prospects for 2026: outfielder Joskairo Ramirez.

Ramirez came in at No. 30 on Norris’ list. The left-handed hitting 17-year-old made his professional debut and spent all of 2026 with DSL Red Sox Red, earning mid-season All-Star honors while batting .320/.443/.553 with 14 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 30 RBIs, 34 runs scored, nine stolen bases, 26 walks, and 26 strikeouts over 45 games (185 plate appearances). He slashed .339/.463/.562 against righties and .241/.361/.517 against lefties.

Among 166 DSL hitters who made at least 185 trips to the plate this season, Ramirez ranked 13th in slugging percentage, 14th in isolated power (.233) and OPS (.996), 19th in wRC+ (141), 20th in wOBA (.474), 24th in batting average, 39th in strikeout rate (14.1%), 40th in line-drive rate (21.7%) and on-base percentage, and 73rd in swinging-strike rate (10.8%), according to FanGraphs.

Defensively, Ramirez saw almost all of his playing time this year come in center field. The 5-foot-9, 175-pounder made 40 starts and logged 286 1/3 innings there, committing one error and recording one assist in 81 total chances. He also made four starts at DH.

“He has excellent hand-eye coordination, a swing that blends decent bat speed with leverage and enough plate discipline to produce above-average miss rates across the board,” Norris wrote last Friday. “Ramirez is small but physical and uses quick reads to mitigate only fringy speed and give himself a chance to stick in center field. If he can maintain those trends, his blend of left-handed offense and middle-diamond defense gives him a chance to be a soft everyday player.

Nicknamed “El Peluche” (“Teddy Bear” in English), Ramirez signed with the Red Sox for $800,000 as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in January. He received the third-largest bonus in Boston’s 2026 signing class, behind only Garielvin Silverio ($1.4 million) and Dawvris Brito ($1.2 million), both of whom also hail from the Dominican Republic.

Ramirez, who turns 18 next month, appears to be the likely candidate to be named the Red Sox’ 2026 Latin Program Position Player of the Year. He is not yet ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects by Baseball America or MLB Pipeline, though SoxProspects.com has him at No. 46 on its top 60 list.

Barring a trade or other move this winter, SoxProspects.com projects Ramirez to make the jump stateside to Fort Myers and play in the Florida Complex League in 2027.

(Picture of Fenway Park: Caleb Bowlin/Getty Images)

Trio of Red Sox prospects named 2026 Dominican Summer League All-Stars

Red Sox prospects Joskairo Ramirez, Anderber Urbina, and Isaac Velasquez have been named 2026 Dominican Summer League All-Stars. The trio of teenagers will represent the organization in Sunday’s DSL All-Star Game at the Rays’ academy in Guerra, just outside Santo Domingo.

All three of Ramirez, Urbina, and Velasquez are in their first professional seasons after joining the Red Sox as international free agents in January. Ramirez, a native of the Dominican Republic, received an $800,000 signing bonus, while Urbina, a native of Venezuela, and Velasquez, a native of Colombia, received $145,000 and $370,000, respectively.

Ramirez, 17, received the third-largest signing bonus in Boston’s 2026 international class and is enjoying a strong debut campaign with DSL Red Sox Red. Nicknamed “El Peluche” (“Teddy Bear” in English), the left-handed hitting outfielder is batting .293/.408/.505 (121 wRC+) with eight doubles, two triples, three home runs, 20 RBIs, 21 runs scored, six stolen bases, 15 walks, and 17 strikeouts in 29 games (120 plate appearances) this season.

Defensively, Ramirez has seen nearly all of his playing time this year come in center field. Across 26 starts there, the 5-foot-9, 175-pounder has committed one error and recorded one assist in 47 chances. He has also made two starts at DH. SoxProspects.com, which currently ranks him as Boston’s No. 56 prospect, notes that he “gets great jumps in center and reads the ball well.”

Urbina, also 17, is Ramirez’s teammate on DSL Red Sox Red. In 28 games for the rookie-level affiliate this season, the right-handed hitting infielder is slashing .312/.443/.505 (134 wRC+) with five doubles, two triples, three home runs, 16 RBIs, 28 runs scored, five stolen bases, 21 walks, and 16 strikeouts over 116 plate appearances.

On the other side of the ball, Urbina has seen playing time at every infield position besides first base. The 5-foot-9, 146-pounder has made 15 starts at shortstop, 10 starts at third base, and three starts at second base, committing five errors in 113 total chances. He is not currently ranked among the organization’s top 60 prospects by SoxProspects.com.

Velasquez, who does not turn 17 until next month, is playing for DSL Red Sox Blue to begin his pro career. Through 26 games this season, the left-handed hitting infielder is batting .216/.376/.527 (112 wRC+) with three doubles, one triple, six home runs, 26 RBIs, 12 runs scored, one stolen base, 15 walks, and 25 strikeouts over 93 plate appearances. His six homers and 26 RBIs lead all of Boston’s DSL hitters.

Defensively, Velasquez has seen the lion’s share of his playing time this year come at shortstop. The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder has made 23 starts at short for DSL Red Sox Blue, committing two errors in 59 chances. He has also made one error-free start at third base and one start at DH. Like Urbina, he is not currently ranked by SoxProspects.com as one of the system’s top 60 prospects.

(Picture: Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)