How Yohan Ramirez evolved in Pittsburgh

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Yohan Ramirez had something of a reputation by the time he arrived in Pittsburgh.

“I was blown away by how nasty he was,” said catcher Austin Hedges, who caught Ramirez with the Guardians. “The whole thing with him was just commanding the ball, just throwing it over the plate. The whole league for a while has known how nasty he is; it’s just his ability to be consistent with it.”

With the Pirates, Ramirez is finding that consistency.

In 21 2/3 innings this season, Ramirez has a 1.25 ERA with 21 strikeouts and eight walks, slowly becoming an invaluable piece of Pittsburgh's bullpen. Thanks to his work with the Pirates’ pitching and mental skills departments, Ramirez is turning that potential into production.

For most of his career, Ramirez’s primary pitch was a four-seam fastball with plenty of ride. He played with a sinker during his time with the Guardians, experimenting with grips and arm actions, but it wasn’t until he joined the Pirates via trade in 2022 that the sinker became a fixture in his arsenal.

Upon joining Triple-A Indianapolis last July, Ramirez had a conversation with coordinator of pitching development Josh Hopper, senior advisor of pitching development Dewey Robinson and Indianapolis manager Miguel Perez.

The Pirates saw potential in Ramirez’s sinker because of the pure amount of movement it generated. Hopper and Robinson not only suggested that Ramirez throw his sinker more often, but helped him make necessary tweaks to his grip and arm action to turn the pitch into a legitimate weapon. Last season, Ramirez’s sinker had a Run Value of -9. This season, it already has a Run Value of -4.

“I’m grateful that the organization took the time and has given me a chance to work on my sinker and develop it,” Ramirez said through team interpreter Stephen Morales. “The organization was patient enough to let me work on it and see the fruits of the labor now at this level.”

Added pitching coach Oscar Marin, “For a guy that maybe hasn’t had a ton of success and him wanting to have success, Yohan is an unbelievable person and Yohan wants to be really good. When he heard the information behind what we wanted him to do and scrap certain pitches and lean really on two, one of them being the sinker, it was an easy conversation for him to take in because our belief in it was so big that he started believing it himself.”

To Hedges, Ramirez’s sinker has different shapes depending on where Ramirez releases the ball. If he throws it up, the pitch will have more run toward the right-handed batter’s box. If he throws it down, it will have more sink. Sometimes, Ramirez can throw a sinker that has a bit of run and sink. With an equally nasty sweeper, one with a whiff rate of 50%, Ramirez can create very uncomfortable at-bats for opposing hitters.

“He can go out and pretty much tell someone a sinker is coming, but you don’t know what that really means,” Hedges said. “It’s going to be moving differently. It’s moving so fast and so much that even if you know it’s coming, if he executes, it’s just going to be a ground ball.”

Throwing the sinker was one thing. Commanding the sinker was another.

Part of the process involved the Pirates’ pitching group providing him with data and video. Marin and the pitching group instilled in Ramirez that all he needed to do was get his sinker over the plate; if he did that, opposing hitters were going to pound it into the grass for groundouts. To Hedges, Ramirez is best-served aiming for the outside or middle of the zone because the pitch generates so much movement toward the right-handed batter's box

The other part of the process came from working with the team’s mental skills department.

Ramirez has worked extensively with coordinator of mental performance Andy Bass on the concept of visualization. According to the American Psychological Association, visualization is defined as, “the process of creating a visual image in one’s mind or mentally rehearsing a planned movement in order to learn skills or enhance performance.”

“If we can visualize ourselves in the first person, it’s best,” Bass said. “It’s almost like a [point-of-view] shot. To see the action unfold in front of us in real time, that’s the most optimal way to visualize. ... If we can put ourselves in that moment like a POV shot, just like we’re watching on a GoPro, and to see the pitch unfold all the way down to the completion of it, that tends to be the best way to visualize.”

The mental skills department hasn’t just helped with Ramirez’s command, but also his composure. Along with Bass, Ramirez has worked with director of international development Hector Morales, who has experience in the mental skills field, as well as former team interpreter Mike Gonzalez, who transitioned into a mental skills role this season.

When Ramirez needs a reset on the mound, he will grab the rosin bag and throw it down as hard as he can. Ramirez will also recite affirmations to himself, telling himself to trust his instincts that he’s the best, self-talk that allows him to get back in the moment.

“That’s the beautiful thing about the mental game: there’s no right or wrong way to do it,” Bass said. “It’s very individualized to the person just like anything in baseball. To have something physical and to couple that with something that he says to himself, those typically make the best resets because it’s a holistic reset. It’s something that deals with his mind and his body.”

Added Ramirez, “I wish I had these mental skills when I was in the Minors, but everything happens for a reason. I’m in the right place around the right people that can help me out with that. I’m more secure in myself here and more sure of myself when it comes to the mental part on the mound.”

Ramirez didn't have had the sinker or his current mental skillset during his time in the Minor Leagues, but with those two traits in his bag, the 28-year-old is finally finding the success that eluded him at previous stops.