Former San Francisco Giants First Round Pick Is Finally Performing

The San Francisco Giants are finally seeing results from their former first round pick.

May 19, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos (17) | Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants selected a project player in the first round of the 2017 MLB draft, he's finally making a positive impact.

Heliot Ramos was selected No. 19 overall back in 2017 out of Puerto Rico. He was very highly touted as a prospect, peaking at No. 63 on the MLB Pipelines Top 100 back in 2018.

Ramos made his debut in 2022, but hasn't made much of an impact. In 2024, he's making the most of his increased playing time and actually performing well.

Since being called up before the May 8 game against the Colorado Rockies, he's slashing .293/.341/.439 and is fresh off of his first career home run.

The 24-year-old slugger has settled into left field for now, but has also been used in right and as a designated hitter. Some positional versatility could allow him to stay in the lineup even when Michael Conforto returns. If he stays hot, Ramos will be hard to get rid of.

Over the past two seasons of AAA ball, he's hovered around a .950 OPS. That production hasn't carried over to MLB, though. Even with his hot start this season, he's slashing .205/.262/.316 for his career.

As San Francisco battles with constant injury issues, their season will fall on the backs of players like Ramos way outperforming their expectations.

With a four-game win streak, the Giants have fought all the way back to just one game out of a Wild Card spot. A 23-25 record with an injured list filled to the brim isn't supposed to lead to wins, but the locker room rallied and that's what's happening.

"I mean we have a good chemistry in the clubhouse for sure," said Ramos to NBC Sports Bay Area after Sunday's win. "All the guys are like happy to be here. They come to compete and everybody's on the same page."