The new Panamanian star born in the World Baseball Classic

There's no question Panama has always been a baseball country.

They've been playing the sport for as long as the U.S. Their teams are arguably better than any others in Central America. Some of the greatest in MLB history, legends like Rod Carew and Mariano Rivera, are from in and around the Canal city.

But in recent years, there haven't been as many Panamian stars in MLB. The national team hasn't reached the World Baseball Classic since 2009 -- failing to qualify during the last two iterations. As manager Luis Ortiz mentioned earlier this week, "We've had a little lull, we haven't been able to get over the hump."

If you were watching the World Baseball Classic qualifiers in Panama City this week, you'd get the feeling that that's quickly changing.

The fans came out in droves with drums and whistles and anything else they could find to make some noise. Team Panama mercy-ruled Argentina in their first game and shut out an up-and-coming Brazilian squad, 4-0, with relative ease. They'll be heading to their first World Series Classic in 13 years.

And sure, their pitching was lights-out, but there was one player who stood out more than the rest. An electric swing and flair that was hard to miss. A young man that seems ready to carry the torch from Panamian offensive stars like Carew and Carlos Lee.

21-year-old center fielder Jose Ramos.

The Dodgers' No. 8 prospect absolutely lit up Class A pitchers this season -- hitting 25 homers and knocking in nearly 100 RBIs. He hit .383 with three homers and 15 RBIs in 15 games in a Dodgers rookie league in 2021. He had two homers and six RBIs in one inning back in July. From MLB Pipeline's scouting card when he first stepped on a stateside field in 2019:

"He made an immediate impression, homering twice with exit velocities of 111 and 114 mph in his first game in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League."

Former big league All-Star and opposing Brazil manager Steve Finley knew about all of that.

"He's a good little player," Finley said postgame. "You saw the numbers he put up last year. He put up some big numbers and now he's showing it here in this series."

Yes, Ramos is breaking out at the international level. He hit a two-run homer to center field in qualifier Game 1 against Argentina. Exit velocity isn't measured at Rod Carew Stadium and, honestly, it'd have a hard time catching the laser speed of this one.

Ramos added another single and another run in the game.

And, on Tuesday night, with even more fervent, diehard Panama fans in attendance hoping for a win and praying for a berth in the World Baseball Classic, Ramos delivered once again. A two-run blast into the night over the left-field wall. He got so excited he almost tripped over his helmet.

"We gave him a fastball to hit right there and he took advantage of it," Finley said. "That was one of our mistakes and we paid the price for it."

When the final out was recorded - a strikeout by Alberto Baldonado -- the rest of the team celebrated wildly in front of their home crowd. This probably isn't the last time this Classic that this team, a "special" team as their manager put it, will have a major celebration. And it's very likely that the phenom Ramos will be part of these major moments in the Classic and beyond for years to come.