Neil Ramirez
Neil Ramirez is an interesting reliever that has struggled lately, but has had success in the past. Ramirez was actually a well-regarded starting pitching prospect coming up through the Rangers system. So much so that he was part of the package that went to the Cubs in 2013 for Matt Garza.
In 2014, Ramirez became one of the Cubs’ best relief pitchers on the heels of a solid fastball/breaking ball combo. He had strong 2014 and 2015 seasons were relying heavily on a 94-95 mph fastball with above average spin. Ramirez threw his fastball 72% of the time in 2014 when he was at his best. Since then he has changed his usage to more of a 50-50 mix between his fastball and breaking balls without much success. Ramirez has dealt with injuries the past several years which have surely contributed to his usage and command issues.
Ramirez was able to throw 31 and a third innings last season at the major league level, and while the results weren’t fantastic, they were a step in the right direction. He had an unruly 7.18 ERA, but reliever ERA is a silly statistic. His underlying numbers tell more of the true story. He had a 4.94 FIP, a 4.24 XRA (a stat based off of Statcast’s xwOBA), and a 4.37 DRA.
All of these numbers show that he was a league average pitcher in 2017. At just 28, Ramirez still has a sharp fastball with an above average spin rate and a swing and miss slider. If Ramirez can prove he is healthy and more of the pitcher from 2014, the Cleveland Indians could have a sneaky good reliever on their hands.