Giants: When will Joey Bart and Heliot Ramos reach the majors?

When will the San Francisco Giants call up their top two prospects Joey Bart and Heliot Ramos? Will either of them play in 2020?

As things currently stand, the San Francisco Giants might not be incredibly fun to watch in 2020.

In fact, barring the re-signing Madison Bumgarner or the addition of another big-time player through free agency or trade, things could get downright boring.

However, one of the more interesting things to watch will be the progression of their young players, including Mike Yastrzemski, Mauricio Dubon, and Logan Webb as they enter their sophomore season.

At the same time, it will also be worth watching how top prospects Joey Bart and Heliot Ramos perform in the minors early in the season, and if they can prove they are ready for the big leagues in 2020.

There’s a good chance that one, if not both of them, will play for the MLB squad this coming season.

While both players ended the 2019 season at Double-A, Bart is two years older and arguably the more polished all-around prospect. That said, he’s lost some developmental time to injury, and will need to stay healthy going forward.

The 22-year-old hit .316/.368/.544 in 22 games with Double-A Richmond to close out the regular season, and he was arguably the most impressive player in the Arizona Fall League before he fractured his thumb on a hit by pitch.

In the 10 games he was able to play pre-injury, he hit .333/.524/.767 with four home runs and 10 RBI while tallying more walks (9) than strikeouts (7) in 42 plate appearances.

Ramos also played in the AFL, though his performance was decidedly less impressive. In 17 games, he hit .185/.250/.262 with 23 strikeouts in 72 plate appearances.

These are small sample sizes for sure, but it’s enough to give you the sense that Bart might be the first one to arrive in the majors.

That’s not to say Ramos hasn’t provided plenty of reason for optimism after hitting an impressive .290/.369/.481 with 24 doubles and 16 home runs in 102 games between High-A and Double-A. Of equal importance, he raised his walk rate from 6.5 to 9.5 percent, showing a more refined approach.

Both players could start the season at Triple-A, which would leave them one hot streak away from providing the MLB lineup with a boost.

However, versatility enthusiast Farhan Zaidi has said he wants Bart to learn another position, so that could delay his call-up. As for Ramos, he took significant steps forward in 2019, but he still has plenty of developing to do since he won’t turn 21 until next September.

I’ll say Bart sees the majors by midseason, while Ramos has to wait until September to get his shot, meaning both players make their San Francisco Giants debut in 2020.

No matter what, we should all look forward to these youngsters possibly contributing to the big league team in the near future. With Madison Bumgarner on his way out the door and Buster Posey in decline, they could be the future faces of the franchise.