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Ramón Laureano

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Ramón Laureano
Laureano with the Oakland Athletics in 2019
Atlanta Braves – No. 18
Outfielder
Born: (1994-07-15) July 15, 1994 (age 30)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 3, 2018, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.247
Home runs82
Runs batted in252
Teams

Ramón Laureano Jr. (born July 15, 1994) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics and Cleveland Guardians.

Early life

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Ramón Laureano is the only son of Nina and Ramón Laureano.[1] He was raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.[2]

Career

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Houston Astros

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Laureano played college baseball at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 16th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft.[3] He made his professional debut with the Greeneville Astros in 2014 and batted .189 with one home run and two RBIs in 16 games, and played 2015 with the Quad Cities River Bandits, batting .265 with four home runs, 34 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Laureano started 2016 with the Lancaster JetHawks and was promoted to the Corpus Christi Hooks in July.[4] Laureano finished 2016 with a combined .319 batting average along with 15 home runs, 73 RBIs and a .955 OPS in 116 total games between both teams. He returned to Corpus Christi in 2017 where he posted a .227 batting average with 11 home runs, 55 RBIs and 24 stolen bases.[5]

Oakland Athletics

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After the 2017 season, Laureano was eligible to be selected during the Rule 5 draft. Instead of placing him on the 40-man roster to prevent his selection, the Astros traded Laureano to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for pitcher Brandon Bailey on November 20, 2017.[6]

On August 3, 2018, the Athletics called up Laureano, and he made his major league debut. His first major league hit that night was a walk-off single to break a scoreless tie in the 13th inning against the Detroit Tigers. Since the RBI became a stat in 1920, Laureano is the first Athletic to hit a walk-off RBI hit as their first major league hit.[7] On August 20, 2018, he hit his first two major league home runs off Bartolo Colón in a 9–0 shutout victory over the Texas Rangers.[8] On September 7, 2018, he hit two more home runs in an 8–4 win over the Rangers, becoming the first player in A's franchise history to have two multi-homer games in his first 30 career games, achieving the feat in 29 games played.[9]

On May 7, 2019, Laureano robbed Joey Votto of a home run in the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds, which would aid Mike Fiers's second career no-hitter.[10] In 2019, Laureano batted .288 with 24 home runs and 67 RBIs. On defense he led all major league center fielders in errors, with 7, and had the lowest fielding percentage of all major center fielders (.974).[11][12] In the Wild Card Game, Laureano drove in the Athletics' only run with a sacrifice fly. The Athletics were defeated 5–1 by the Tampa Bay Rays.

On August 9, 2020, Laureano was ejected for the first time in his career for charging at the Houston Astros bench to go after Astros hitting coach Alex Cintrón, causing the benches to empty.[13] He was suspended six games on August 11 due to the incident, while Cintron was suspended for 20.[14] On appeal, Laureano's suspension was reduced to four games, beginning on August 14.[15]

In 2020, he batted .213, with 6 home runs, 25 RBIs, posted a .338 on-base percentage and a .366 slugging percentage. He had an AL-leading 12 hit by pitches.[16]

On August 6, 2021, Laureano was suspended by MLB for 80 games for testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug nandrolone.[17][18] On October 1, Laureano underwent core surgery.[19] His suspension continued through the first 27 games of the 2022 season.[20]

On May 8, 2022, Laureano played his first game after his suspension.[21] On July 11, 2022, Laureano misplayed a sinking line drive hit by the Rangers’ Josh Smith, resulting in an inside-the-park home run.

On January 13, 2023, Laureano signed a one-year, $3.55 million contract with the Athletics, avoiding salary arbitration.[22] In 64 games for Oakland, he batted .213/.280/.364 with 6 home runs, 21 RBI, and 8 stolen bases. Despite having the third highest rWAR on the Athletics, he was designated for assignment on August 5.[23]

Cleveland Guardians

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On August 7, 2023, Laureano was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Guardians.[24] He played in 41 games for Cleveland down the stretch, hitting .243/.342/.382 with three home runs and 14 RBI.

Laureano struggled for Cleveland in 2024, batting .143/.265/.229 with one home run and four RBI across 31 contests. The Guardians designated Laureano for assignment on May 20, 2024.[25] After clearing waivers, Laureano was released by the Guardians on May 25, 2024, while being owed $5.15 million by the team.[26][27]

Atlanta Braves

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On May 29, 2024, Laureano signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves organization.[28][29] He made 14 appearances with the Triple–A Gwinnett Stripers, posting a .362 batting average with three home runs and 12 RBI. On June 15, the Braves selected Laureano's contract, adding him to their active roster, after incumbent center fielder Michael Harris II suffered a hamstring strain.[30]

Skills profile

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Laureano has drawn attention for the strength and accuracy of his arm.[31]

References

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  1. ^ Passan, Jeff (August 10, 2020). "A's outfielder Ramon Laureano says vile remark by Astros hitting coach spurred brawl". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  2. ^ Ellis, Jim (January 7, 2017). "Former Golden Norse player Laureano scoring baseball dream". News-Record. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  3. ^ Batterson, Steve (July 22, 2015). "Laureano creates a defensive edge in Bandits' outfield". Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  4. ^ "Laureano sticking to same approach to achieve success with Hooks". Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  5. ^ "Ramon Laureano Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  6. ^ Kaplan, Jake (November 20, 2017). "Astros trade outfielder Ramon Laureano to Athletics". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  7. ^ "Ramon Laureano has MLB debut to remember in walk-off win over Tigers". The Mercury News. August 4, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  8. ^ "Ramon Laureano leads A's with first 2 MLB homeruns". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  9. ^ "Ramon Laureano hits two homers vs. Rangers". MLB.com. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  10. ^ "Laureano robs Votto of HR, preserves no-no". MLB.com. May 8, 2019.
  11. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2019 » Center Fielders » Fielding Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball". Fangraphs.com. January 1, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  12. ^ "2019 Major League Baseball Fielding Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  13. ^ "Oakland Athletics OF Ramon Laureano charges Houston Astros dugout, sparks brawl". espn.com. August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  14. ^ "Athletics' Ramon Laureano suspended 6 games; Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron suspended 20 games". ESPN. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  15. ^ "Oakland A's OF Ramon Laureano sees suspension cut to 4 games". ESPN. August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  16. ^ "Ramon Laureano Stats". Baseball-Reference.com.
  17. ^ Gallegos, Martin (August 6, 2021). "A's dealt blow with Laureano's suspension". MLB.com. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  18. ^ "A's OF Laureano gets 80-game drug suspension". ESPN.com. August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  19. ^ "Suspended A's outfielder Ramón Laureano undergoes core surgery". October 2021.
  20. ^ "Set to finish out suspension, A's CF Laureano eager to play". Associated Press. March 19, 2022.
  21. ^ "Live Athletics at Twins game free with MLB Gameday". MLB.com. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  22. ^ "2023 MLB Arbitration Tracker". MLBTradeRumors. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  23. ^ "Athletics designate veteran outfielder Ramón Laureano for assignment just days after trade deadline". cbssports.com. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  24. ^ "Guardians grab Laureano, 29, off waivers from A's". ESPN.com. August 7, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  25. ^ Adams, Steve (May 20, 2024). "Guardians Designate Ramon Laureano For Assignment". MLB Trade Rumors.
  26. ^ Koslow, Ari (May 26, 2024). "Ramon Laureano released by Guardians". FantasyPros.
  27. ^ "Ramon Laureano: Cut loose by Cleveland". CBSSports.com. May 27, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  28. ^ "Braves sign OF Ramon Laureano, call up pitching prospect". Longview News-Journal. May 29, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  29. ^ Trezza, Joe (May 29, 2024). "Braves sign Laureano to Minors deal, add depth after Acuña injury". MLB.com. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  30. ^ Burns, Gabriel (June 15, 2024). "Braves place Michael Harris II on injured list, add Ramón Laureano to roster". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  31. ^ Matz, Eddie (May 24, 2019). "The legend of Laureano's laser: How the A's outfielder went viral". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
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