Pregame Notes: Bryan Ramos is here, but should he get comfortable?

ST. LOUIS -- Bryan Ramos joining the White Sox had all the hallmarks of a need-based promotion.

As Danny Mendick back tightness failed to abate over the course of Friday night, a White Sox team that recently excised Zach Remillard from the 40-man roster and placed Lenyn Sosa on the seven-day injured list, had Ramos pulled mid-inning of a tight game at Double-A Birmingham in which he had recently extended an eight-game hitting streak.

Ramos was initially confused, and Barons manager Sergio Santos didn't tell him right away that he was getting promoted to Chicago. But as the affable 22-year-old Cuban third baseman sat on the bench, he considered the possible explanations, and conjured very few bad potential outcomes. When Terrell Tatum lined a 10th inning RBI single for a walk-off win, Ramos was out celebrating on the field with his teammates, and only after the whole Barons roster was corralled into the clubhouse postgame was the news of his promotion delivered to a jubilant reaction.

"Everybody was fired up already and they jumped on me and gave congratulations," Ramos said Saturday morning. He subsequently called his parents, who were moved to tears by the news. "Every kid dreams of it when they are little. To be here now is kind of everything. I'm so happy right now."

When the pre-tacked baseball left the Southern League in the second half of last season, Ramos quickly became an offensive force fitting of his prospect status. No one would have batted an eye if he had started this year alongside Colson Montgomery at Triple-A Charlotte.

That he not only returned to Birmingham, but started the season in what he described on Saturday as probably the roughest stretch of his pro career, drove a different kind of attention. As recently as April 24, Ramos was 5-for-55 at the plate with no extra-base hits against a level of pitching it seemed he was conquering last August.

"As frustrated as he is currently, it’s part of it," Sox farm director Paul Janish said of Ramos last week. "I say this affectionately: It’s a stupid game. He’s going to come out of it. He’s too good of a player. He’s got too much ability not to. But it is important to struggle, I think. I value a player struggling and getting themselves out of it. It’s a huge piece that guys need to go through.”

Now Ramos arrives in St. Louis riding an eight-game hitting streak where he's hit .333/.389/.667. He pulled a 98 mph fastball from hard-throwing reliever Ben Joyce into the Barons bullpen on Wednesday for one of his two home runs during this stretch, and his recent hot streak and offensive tools belie his ugly .182/.265/.307 line on the season.

"To be honest, nothing," Ramos said of what he's changed of recent. "This sport is hard. It's been slow to start the season. I started the season kind of slow, but now I'm getting my rhythm. I just came to the ballpark with the same mentality: grow up and keep playing. At some point I know I'm going to get back to my rhythm. You've just got to keep playing and keep doing your thing and let's go. I worked for this. It's kind of surprising but I'll take it. I know I can play at this level."

The White Sox celebrated Ramos' debut for the personal accomplishment that it is for one of the best prospects in their system, and the open delight from many team employees reflect the beloved status he has in the organization. But this does not scan as the typical changing of the guard where a cornerstone prospect is promoted to stay, and the Sox are not expecting a long stay in the majors for Ramos. Mendick was facing a choice between playing through pain and developing bad habits, or a minimum IL stay for his back tightness, and could easily be back to claim third base reps after 10 days. That leaves a small window of time for Ramos to Wally Pipp all of the Sox infield depth.

"[Ramos is] going to have eight-to-10 days to perform," Pedro Grifol said. "And at that time, evaluations will be made and we’ll see where he’s at and go from there."

Ramos did not exactly have the most normal night of travel before a Saturday day game, and Grifol said he's getting a chance to "take it all in," while Braden Shewmake starts at third. But the Sox manager made a point of stating that Ramos would get ample chance to play while he's with the team. The White Sox think it can only be beneficial and confidence-building for Ramos to get a taste of the majors, and have a high level of trust in his makeup. But this is also markedly different language than what was used at points in the last two years when José Rodríguez or Lenyn Sosa were called up to fill a roster need, but saw little action.

"He’ll get a lot of playing time," Grifol said. "He’s going to go out there and play. We’ve got to let him play, go out there and have some fun. We’re not compromising major league games, we’re bringing a talented kid up here to perform. The cool thing is he’s young and we’ve got to teach and we’ve got to make sure we monitor every move, his positioning, his base running, his ABs. Monitor all that stuff and make sure we don’t overwhelm him with information and that we teach him on a daily basis and he’ll absorb. He’s a sponge. He’s a very smart kid."

"Great talent," Mendick said of the prospect that's arrived to fill his roster spot. "Excited to see what he’s going to do, for sure."

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