As if his mound performances haven’t been enough (and they certainly have been), the August 31 trade for Justin Verlander from Detroit keeps paying dividends. On October 13, the Tigers sent 18-year-old outfielder Juan Ramirez as the player-to-be-named-later to the Houston Astros.

In exchange for that pair of players, as well as including $16 million to cover some of Verlander’s remaining salary, the Astros sent a trio of prospects to the Detroit organization: Right-handed pitcher Franklin Perez, outfielder Daz Cameron, and catcher Jake Rogers.

Related: Jake Rogers: Bat Goes Hand In Glove With Defensive Skills

Ramirez was signed as a 16-year-old by Detroit in the summer of 2015 out of the Dominican Republic for a reported $185,000. He was born Juan de Dios Ramirez in Santo Domingo, on Friday, April 9, 1999.

What We Know

Ben Badler of Baseball America (July 2, 2015) has one of the few scouting reports currently available on the left-handed hitter and thrower: “Ramirez has more physical projection than his 5-foot-9, 160-pound height and weight might suggest, with strong legs and projection in his upper half to grow into some more power down the road. Right now, he’s a lefty who stands out for his bat, hitting in games with frequent contact and a knack for the barrel. He’s not a big runner, but he has a plus arm that fits well in right field.”

Ramirez spent 2017 with the GCL Tigers West in the Gulf Coast League, against opponents averaging over a year older than he. Over 46 games, he hit .301/.385/.362 and stole 11 bases in 18 attempts. He clubbed 6 doubles and 2 triples in 188 plate appearances while scoring 30 runs in 46 games. He walked 20 times while whiffing just 14 times.

In a 10-game stretch with the GCL team in August, Ramirez hit in eight of those games, collecting a total of 15 hits, with six multi-hit games. That burst elevated his batting average from .275 to .301.

With the Dominican Summer League in 2016, he produced a .297/.408/.396 line, while walking nearly twice as many times as he struck out (39-21) in 57 games. In his two years in the Detroit organization, he’s yet to hit a round-tripper, but with his build and skill set, that’s an easily forgivable note.

The Small Strike Zone

Like Houston’s AL batting champ, Jose Altuve, from the right side, Juan Ramirez’ ultimate value may come from his compact strike zone, especially as he learns to use it to his advantage. As he continues to zero in on pitch recognition, too, on his trek through the organization, he’ll force pitchers to throw strikes, and draw even more walks.

Jimmy Price of Astros Future offered this insight on Ramirez: “The Astros have been very successful scouting the backfields and the GCL acquiring lower level talent in other deals like [those for] David Paulino, Francis Martes, and Jonathan Arauz, just to name a few. Great to see the Astros get a legit prospect back in this deal to help balance the prospect cost [of Perez, Cameron, and Rogers sent to Detroit].”

2018 For Juan Ramirez

Ramirez will likely start his Houston ladder climb, next year, with the team’s full-season Class A Quad Cities River Bandits of the Midwest League, based in Davenport, Iowa. If all goes well, a mid-season promotion to Houston’s Carolina League affiliate, the Buies Creek Astros (Advanced-A) would be in order, and all as a 19-year-old.