Heliot Ramos injury update: X-rays negative on top prospect’s hand

The San Francisco Giants organization had a scary moment last night when one of the team’s top prospects, outfielder Heliot Ramos, had to leave the game after he was hit by a pitch on the hand.

Outfielder Heliot Ramos is a big part of the San Francisco Giants future plans, and he has already missed time to a left knee injury earlier this season.

Further time on the sidelines would only delay his arrival in the big leagues and it looked like he could be headed for another injured list trip after he was hit in the hand with a pitch in Monday night’s game.

Here’s a look at the incident from his third plate appearance of the night:

With that, San Francisco Giants fans held their collective breaths.

Fortunately, a source close to the situation has told Around the Foghorn that X-rays taken this morning were negative and the injury is “not as bad as [it] initially looked” and his currently considered “day-to-day.”

The injury would have been a disappointing setback to a breakout season for a prospect on the rise. The 19-year-old entered the season as one of the headliners in the Giants organization, and his scintillating .310/.389/.507 performance in the Cal League has made him a consensus top-100 prospect in baseball.

Despite the time he missed earlier this season. Ramos maintained a mindset for success and he didn’t miss a beat upon returning.

Monday night’s matchup against the Lake Elsinore Storm gave top prospects Ramos and catcher Joey Bart a chance to face an experienced MLB pitcher in rehabbing San Diego Padres starter Garrett Richards.

Richards ended up allowing just two hits and two walks in 2.2 scoreless innings while striking out five. However, Ramos was responsible for both hits and Bart drew one of the walks.

While the negative X-rays are good news, this could still be a hit to the San Jose Giants playoff chances. The Giants front office will surely want to be cautious with Ramos and he will likely get at least a few days off.

San Jose was already struggling to remain within striking distance of the postseason with a 21-23 second-half record. However, they are still in third place and just five games back, so a strong stretch of play could give them a puncher’s chance.

Logan Baldwin will likely see the biggest bump in playing time with Ramos out. So far this year, the 23-year-old outfielder has struggled to a .207/.250/.318 line, but he’s flashed an intriguing combination of speed and power in the past.

Regardless, the San Francisco Giants appear to have avoided a big blow to one of the brightest stars in a vastly improved farm system after X-rays came back negative on Heliot Ramos’ hand.