What Pedro Ramirez Brings To The Cubs Ahead of MLB Debut

The Chicago Cubs have called up one of their top prospects. 

They officially promoted infielder Pedro Ramirez to the Major League roster ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Houston Astros. Ramirez is the Cubs’ No. 2 overall prospect on MLB Pipeline, and the 22-year-old finally gets the call after six seasons in the Minors. 

Ramirez is taking Matt Shaw’s spot on the active roster, with Shaw landing on the 10-day injured list due to a back injury. 

Ramirez has been the biggest riser in the Cubs’ Minor League system this year. He posted solid numbers throughout Spring Training with a .367 batting average, two home runs, 12 RBI, and four stolen bases across 37 plate appearances and carried that into his first taste of Triple-A ball. 

The switch-hitting infielder was slashing .312/.395/.547 with nine home runs, 11 doubles, 40 RBI, and 19 stolen bases in 43 games with the Iowa Cubs before his promotion. Ramirez backed up these numbers with some pretty impressive metrics. 

The Venezuelan native had a 90.8 mph average exit velocity, a 7.4% barrel rate, a 42.6% hard-hit rate, a 90.83% zone-contact rate, a 6.87% swinging strike rate, and a 7.32 speed score. All six of these metrics played a major part in Ramirez’s early-season numbers in Triple-A. 

MLB Pipeline’s No. 85 overall prospect really flashed his full potential in the first two months of the Minor League season. He surpassed his previous career high in home runs in just 37 games and was a menace on the basepaths. Ramirez was on pace to pass his previous career high of 28 stolen bases by the end of June. 

Now, the 22-year-old will look to make an immediate impact for a struggling Cubs team that has lost eight of its last 10 games. 

Ramirez is a plus contact hitter with above-average speed. He batted .284 in 116 games at High-A in 2024, hit .280 in 129 games at Double-A in 2025, and had a .312 batting average in the early portion of the 2026 season. 

While Ramirez didn't display much power early in his Minor League career, his power is starting to take form. He hit eight home runs at Double-A last year and had nine home runs in 170 at-bats this season. 

It remains to be seen how much Ramirez will play and how long Shaw will be out with his back injury. However, he will no doubt get his opportunity to show what he's got at the big league level. 

Ramirez’s primary position is at third base, where he has played top-notch defense throughout his Minor League career. He even won the Rawlings Minor League Gold Glove award for his play at the hot corner last season. 

But Ramirez has also gotten some work in the outfield recently. He has started a few games in left field for the Iowa Cubs in recent weeks, and Chicago could give him some starts there to get him some plate appearances. 

The switch-hitting infielder is not in the lineup for the series opener against the Astros. So, he’ll have to wait at least one more day to make his first career Major League start.