South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 76: Ramon Beltre

If he gets his feet under him at Kannapolis early in 2019, this second-sacker could be back on the fast track

By whisoxman20051917 Mar 26, 2019, 10:06pm CDT

**Quick Dash:** With a strong start to 2019 in Kannapolis, Beltre soon may find himself playing all over the Dash infield.

Ramon Beltre
5´11´´
160 pounds
Bats: Right
Age: 22
SSS rank among all second basemen in the system: 5

As a resident of San Pedro de Macoris, D.R., which has been the home of dozens (seemingly hundreds) of major league superstars, Beltre signed a minor league contract with the White Sox as a 17-year-old in November 2013. From the years 2014-16 Beltre had done reasonably well with the DSL White Sox, but not well enough to earn a promotion to the States.

However, that all changed in 2017, when Beltre slashed .335/.393/.477 over 176 at-bats. Upon winning his promotion to the AZL White Sox on July 27, he hit a robust .308/.339/.383. In all for 2017, Beltre combined to hit .325/.373/.422 over 283 at-bats, with five homers, 38 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases while walking 22 times (7.0%) and striking out 48 (15.2%).

Starting 2018 with Great Falls, Beltre continued his hot hitting, to the tune of .290/.319/.466 with four homers and 18 RBIs, prior to being promoted to Kannapolis on August 2. Like most hitters making the transition from hitting-friendly Great Falls to pitching-friendly Kannapolis, Beltre struggled considerably. For the Intimidators, Beltre slashed just .242/.253/.330 with one homer, 13 RBIs, two walks (2.1%), and 26 strikeouts (26.8%).

While Beltre spent considerable time playing shortstop and third base last year, the majority of his playing time was at second base. For someone who doesn’t have blazing speed and has a relatively smallish build, second base seems to be Beltre’s most logical position.

Expect Beltre to return to Kannapolis to begin 2019, with the opportunity for early promotion if he gets off to a hot start. He seems to fit the bill of a utility middle infielder — much like a Bryant Flete or Eddy Alvarez.