This Marlins Slugger Was Team's Rookie of the Year After Impressive Debut Season
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At the 2024 trade deadline, the Miami Marlins decided to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. for a package of prospects from the New York Yankees. The headlining piece of that deal was a young promising catcher by the name of Agustín Ramírez.
He made his Major League debut on April 21, 2025. After his debut, he went on to play a 136-game season for the Marlins. He started 71 of those games from behind the plate as catcher, appearing in 73 games as the team's backstop.
While Jakob Marsee had a loud rookie campaign, leading all Miami rookies in FanGraphs WAR at 2.2 in just 55 games, what Ramírez showed in much more time played has earned him this year's Rookie of the Year title.
Ramírez Was Clear Power-Hitting Threat
Ramírez showed his power from the jump. He recorded three home runs in his first 33 plate appearances in April. He went on to hit four in the month of May and five in the month of June. He finished with 14 homers before the All-Star break.
Post the break, Ramírez hit seven more home runs. In just his rookie season at the age of 24, he joined the 20-home run club. While his second half wasn’t as good as his first, he managed to finish with a .413 slugging percentage for the year.
When looking at Ramírez's advanced profile on Baseball Savant, there is one area where he is much better than a majority of players; his bat speed. Among all qualified hitters, Ramírez ranked in the 89th percentile, with an average of 75.2 mph bat speed. He also ranked in the 73rd percentile, with a 47% hard-hit rate.
By being able to pair his quick bat with hard hit contact, it’s no wonder Ramírez saw 21 baseballs leave the yard in his rookie season.
As far as his splits went, Ramírez showed to be much better against right-handed pitchers. His slugging percentage was much higher against righties than lefties, and 15 of his 21 homers came from that side, which is something to note as a right-handed hitter.
While Ramírez wasn’t elite defensively behind the plate, he wasn’t one dimensional with his production. He paired his power with some speed on the basepaths. He stole 16 bases in 2025, coming four short of reaching the 20/20 club in his first Major League season.
Ramírez has set the bar high for what Miami fans can expect out of him. He’ll be one to watch closely in 2026, as he’ll be 24 for a majority of the year.
