The Pedro Ramirez Era begins?
Sort of.
The Cubs promoted their No. 2 ranked prospect ahead of Friday’s game, bringing Ramirez up from Triple-A Iowa when utility man Matt Shaw’s tight back forced a trip to the injured list.
Ramirez – who’s split the majority of his time this season between third base and second base — has put up big numbers in the minors: In 43 games, he’s got a .312 batting average, a .942 OPS, nine homers and 19 stolen bases.
But according to manager Craig Counsell, the 22-year-old, switch-hitting Venezuelan hasn’t arrived with expectations of much playing time, as good as that production would look inserted into the Cubs’ scuffling lineup.
Instead, it’s about getting Ramirez acclimated to life in the big leagues in preparation for a potentially heftier assignment down the road.
“It’s not going to be a big playing role,” Counsell said. “But it’s also good for him to get exposure to the major leagues, to get exposure to the group, to get exposure to the schedule so that if we run into a situation where it is a lot of playing time, he doesn’t have to go through it for the first time while playing.
“There could be a start here or there. We’ll take that day to day.”
Ramirez, rated as the No. 85 prospect in the game, will have to wait for his starring role. But that doesn’t mean the Cubs aren’t expecting big things.
“We saw in spring training, maybe, a glimpse of a player that was ready to have a big season,” Counsell said, “and he’s off to a great start.”
Taillon taken deep, again
Even with the Wrigley winds gusting in, Jameson Taillon couldn’t keep the ball in the yard.
The Cubs’ righty starter was absolutely mauled his last time out, when he served up five homers to the crosstown-rival White Sox. Friday wasn’t nearly as bad, but Taillon still ended up on the losing end — and saw his league lead in home runs allowed grow bigger.
After surrendering a solo shot to Astros catcher Christian Vazquez, he’s now yielded 17 long balls on the season, in 10 starts.
“When we’re not putting runs across, obviously I don’t want to put us in a hole,” Taillon said after the Cubs managed just four hits in a 4-2 loss. “I’m thinking of these things: ‘One mistake could be the game.’
“When I gave up that solo homer to put us down 1-0 early, with two strikes to the 9-hole hitter, that’s a crappy feeling and put us in a bad spot.”
Taillon didn’t make it out of the fifth inning Friday and ended with four runs and eight hits on his tab. His ERA jumped to 5.20.
As the Cubs’ offense sputters and as Taillon continues to watch opposing batters circle the bases – just twice this season has he delivered a homerless performance – it’s worth wondering if the pitching staff can pick up the slack.
“When the game punches you, you’ve got to punch back and find a way,” Taillon said. “I need to punch back. I can say, ‘I thought I made some good pitches,’ all I want. But it comes down to results. It wasn’t good enough today.”
