Rays Grades: Harold Ramirez continues his career revival in St. Pete

In year two with the Tampa Bay Rays, Harold Ramirez kept his reputation of being an anchor in their lineup. He finished the year with a batting average of .313 through 400 at-bats. This was accompanied by an OPS of .813. Ramirez also finished the season with 68 RBI (top five on the Rays).

He had a lot of great moments with getting runners in scoring position home and this consistent enough contact kept him in the DH role for Tampa Bay. However, Ramirez still needs work with his discipline and reading pitches.

The 29-year-old from Colombia had trouble drawing walks. His walk rate of 5% ranked in the bottom 8% of baseball, which makes sense as it occurred just 22 times in 400 ABs. What did Ramirez do that led to this?

He began at-bats with first-pitch swings very often last season as he did so in a little under half of his at-bats all season. This would happen to pitches both inside and outside of the zone. Ramirez's chase rate was in the bottom 1% of the league. This not only reflects bad pitch reading, but could also lead to a lot of strikeouts and can keep Ramirez from finding his pitch more often.

This has all put Ramirez's OBP at .353 which is slightly above the major league baseball average of .340. His well-roundedness at the plate can really be improved if the chase rate is improved and he remains more patient in looking for his pitch.

Nonetheless, Ramirez is finding stability in St. Pete with great RISP hitting. He made himself an integral part of Tampa Bay's lineup and may have worked himself into an extension after going through his one-year, $22 million deal in the 2023 season.

Harold Ramirez 2023 Season Grade: B-

More grades: