August 15, 2011 at 7:14 PM
Report: Red Sox sign fourth-round selection Noe Ramirez
According to Jim Callis of Baseball America, the Red Sox have signed fourth round pick Noe Ramirez, a right-handed pitcher from Cal State-Fullerton, for a bonus of $625,000.
The 6-foot-3 hurler earned Second-Team All-America honors in 2011 after posting an 8-4 record with a 1.69 ERA. Opponents struggled to make good contact against Ramirez, who allowed just 10 extra base hits and struck out 103 in 90.2 innings as a junior.
Like fellow draftee Matt Barnes, Ramirez followed up a strong sophomore campaign with an impressive stint on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. As the Titans' Friday night starter, Ramirez went 12-1 with a 2.54 ERA in 16 appearances (14 starts). He fanned a career-high 119 batters, including 14 in a complete-game shutout win over Hawaii on March 26. Ramirez worked as a reliever for the national team, striking out over a batter per inning and picking up 5 saves with an ERA of 2.69 in 9 games.
Ramirez was a Baseball America Freshman All-American in 2009, when he posted a 9-2 record with 100 strikeouts in 110.2 innings of work. Ramirez entered Cal State-Fullerton with a high-80s fastball, but reports on his velocity had him between 92-94 MPH this season. He compliments the fastball with a sweeping 77-79 MPH breaking ball and an 84 MPH changeup that he learned from former college teammate and current Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Ricky Romero.