The Cubs have called up top prospect Pedro Ramirez for his major league debut, per Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. Fellow infielder Matt Shaw heads to the 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 20) due to tightness in his back. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers first noted that Ramirez was in the clubhouse at Wrigley Field this morning.
Ramirez, 22, is one of the top prospects in Chicago’s system. He’s elevated his status with a brilliant start to his season in Des Moines, home of the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate. The Venezuelan-born infielder has taken 196 turns at the plate and delivered a robust .312/.395/.547 batting line. By measure of wRC+, that’s 36% better than league average.
Ramirez has swatted nine homers and added 11 doubles and a triple. He’s 19-for-21 in stolen base attempts and has walked at a hearty 10.7% clip against a 16.3% strikeout rate that’s considerably lower than the 22.1% major league average. He’s drawn praise for above-average raw power in the past, but it hadn’t fully manifested until this season. His nine long balls are already a career-high.
A switch-hitter with above-average tools across the board, Ramirez can also play either second or third base. He won a minor league Gold Glove for his work at the latter position in 2025. This year’s terrific start has catapulted Ramirez onto several top-100 prospect rankings. He’s currently 80th at FanGraphs and 85th at both Baseball America and MLB.com.
More to come.
