The first half of the 2019 Minor League Baseball season couldn't have gone better for Heliot Ramos. The Giants' No. 2 prospect was a California League All-Star after hitting eight homers and leading the San Jose Giants in multiple categories, despite missing four weeks with a knee injury.
And then the start to the second half happend.
Some players need a break to regroup and give their body a rest at the halfway point. For Ramos, it threw off his rhythm drastically at the plate. All that changed Tuesday night in San Jose.
Ramos, 19, started off the second half 2-for-20 with nine strikeouts in the Giants' first five games after the break. He also went 0-for-4 on the final day of the first half. It was time for the slump to end.
The center fielder went 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in San Jose's 8-4 comeback win over the Modesto Nuts. He finished a triple shy of the cycle.
Ramos just missed clearing the wall in the fourth inning when he crushed a double to the opposite field off the right-field wall.
Sports
B4| Ramos with a double to keep the momentum going🔥 pic.twitter.com/NlCNhNyiTW— San Jose Giants (@SJGiants) June 26, 2019
Two innings later, Ramos hit his team-leading ninth homer of the year with a high two-run blast over the left-field fence.
HELIOT RAMOS HAS LEFT THE YARD! @HeliotRamos tees off on a 1-2 slider and launches an absolute 💣 high into the San Jose night. He's a triple short of the cycle: single up the middle, double to right, homer to left. ⭐️ performance for the @SJGiants tonite pic.twitter.com/AprcS8o6z7— Jacob Zweiback (@TheReelJZ) June 26, 2019
Ramos is now slashing .282/.372/.526 with an .897 OPS. He has 20 extra-base hits in 43 games, and his nine homers are only two less than he hit all of last year, in 124 games.
Giants top prospect Joey Bart also caught plenty of attention with his power, and to the surprise of some, his speed as well. Bart unloaded on a ball to right-center field in the second inning, and the 235-pound catcher easily legged out a stand-up triple.
Joey Bart showing @SJGiants fans what the hype is all about (@JBart9GT). Unloads on a 2-0 fastball (89 mph from Penn Murfee), driving it about 370 feet to right center and showing off surprising speed for the RBI triple 👀 pic.twitter.com/kaWYezrNSa— Jacob Zweiback (@TheReelJZ) June 26, 2019
The triple was Bart's first extra-base hit in 11 games.
[RELATED: Madison Bumgarner passes Matt Cain in career strikeouts]
While the focus in San Francisco shifts to the July 31 trade deadline, Bart and Ramos remain two of the leading factors that can lead a bright future in the Bay.
