Pedro Ramírez keeps raking at Iowa, bolsters Cubs infield depth

Pedro Ramírez is making every look at Triple-A Iowa feel louder. The 22-year-old switch-hitter, who turned 22 on April 1, kept his fast start rolling with a four-hit, five-RBI night in Iowa’s 11-10, 10-inning win over Columbus on April 16, the kind of line that moves a player from “promising” to “relevant” in a hurry.

That performance only sharpened the case for Ramírez as a future Cubs infield option. Through 15 games at Iowa, he is hitting .295 with a .358 on-base percentage, a .590 slugging percentage and a .948 OPS, with four homers, 14 RBI and five stolen bases. MLB.com’s player page had him even higher on the production board after his latest outburst, listing him at .328 with 19 RBI and seven steals in 67 at-bats. However the snapshot is taken, the takeaway is the same: Ramírez is doing damage with power, contact and speed.

The underlying profile is what makes this more than a hot week. Ramírez is a switch-hitter who has already logged time at second base and third base, exactly the kind of defensive flexibility that can matter in Chicago when the roster tightens and the bench spots get scarce. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the Cubs’ No. 8 prospect, and that may prove conservative if the bat keeps forcing its way into the picture. He is not just putting balls in play. He is turning good swings into extra bases, and extra bases into run production.

The spring preview was not a fluke. Ramírez hit .367 with a 1.065 OPS in Cactus League play, with two homers, including a grand slam, four extra-base hits, 12 RBI, five stolen bases, four walks and only one strikeout. That blend of power, speed and contact is the reason his stock is climbing. It also explains why his early-season production has shifted the discussion from whether he can hit to where he fits.

Chicago signed Ramírez in its 2021 international class out of Venezuela, from the same program that produced Moisés Ballesteros, and the organization has already moved him through the system this spring, optioning him to Double-A Knoxville before promoting him to Iowa. If this pace holds, the most realistic big-league challenge comes as a versatile middle-infield and corner-infield depth piece, with enough offense to push for more than a temporary bench role. For a Cubs club that values defense and still needs bats that travel, Ramírez is starting to look like a name that can force the issue in Chicago sooner rather than later.