GLENDALE, Ariz. — On a gorgeous Tuesday that didn’t feature a cloud in the sky, the Giants hope their future will be displayed even brighter.
The dugout — and outfield — got a little bit more crowded for the day, as the Giants called up their Nos. 2 and 4 prospects, Heliot Ramos and Hunter Bishop, from minor league camp to find the duo some big-league action.
Neither is starting at Camelback Ranch against the White Sox, but both are expected to take the field.
“Right now I’m going to say ‘nothing,’” Bishop, last year’s first-round pick, said about his nerve level, “but it might be a different story when I get up there.”
Alexander Canario, their No. 7 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, is also in the dugout, and fans could be getting a look at a potential 2022 outfield. Both Bishop and Ramos have come through the system in center; the former saying he would play anywhere, the latter admitting he hoped to stay at the premium position.
“I’m going to work to stay in center,” said Ramos, just 20 years old and a bit of a surprise that he was not assigned to major league camp, which he said he had hoped to be in.
Instead, the Giants want their wunderkind to earn his way up. Even just five years ago, a major league player who couldn’t yet legally drink was unheard of around the league. The game, as they say, has changed, and Ramos is the type of ready-made talent who could play his way into the majors this season — which he said was a goal.
“I hope this year — as soon as possible,” Ramos said in Scottsdale, before the team left for the game. “Whatever they want.”
The 21-year-old Bishop, a former Arizona State star, is further away, finishing his first professional season in short-season Salem-Keizer, while Ramos, a 19th-overall pick in 2017, reached Double-A Richmond.
Since Bishop has been drafted, he said he’s grown “exponentially.” His first offseason as a pro involved work with the new hitting minds, Donnie Ecker, Justin Viele and Dustin Lind. A hitter with reputed great power and plate discipline is happy how his stroke is progressing.
“I feel like my swing’s a lot quicker than it was last summer and even in college last year. Just trying to work on staying inside the ball and staying pretty quick,” said Bishop, who was less forthright with his season goals.
“I think [my year] can go so many different ways.”
Ramos listed being more patient at the plate as an aim for this season, not wanting to jump at too many first pitches. If the minor leaguers are over-eager to impress, it’s understandable. If nothing else, Farhan Zaidi’s Giants have proven open to promoting from within, allowing players to soar through the system if they show they’re ready.
“I think it’s been apparent to a lot of the minor leaguers that if you’re performing, you’ll get rewarded,” Bishop said. “People are going to say they’re not going to worry about their performance, but I think everybody as humans does. If you take it day by day, at-bat by at-bat, hopefully something good will turn out.”