Yordany Ramirez

Yordany Antonio Ramirez (born July 31, 1984 in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Houston Astros.

Ramirez was originally signed as undrafted free agent by the San Diego Padres on April 23, .

From to , Ramirez spent both seasons with the Rookie League Idaho Falls Padres. He had no home runs either seasons and hit .179 in 2002 and improved to .266 in 2003. In , he split the season between the Rookie League Arizona Padres and the Single-A Eugene Emeralds. In a combined 43 games, he hit .259 with 2 home runs. He also led the Arizona Padres in stolen bases with 16, stealing them in just 39 games.

In , Ramirez spent the season with the Single-A Fort Wayne Wizards. Playing in 104 games, he batted .222 with 8 home runs and 46 RBI's.

Ramirez played for the Single-A Lake Elsinore Storm in . He played in just 78 games, batting .252 with 3 home runs. In , Ramirez began the season for the Storm again. Ramirez played in 82 games, batting .269 with 4 home runs and 22 stolen bases. On July 19, Ramirez was promoted to the Triple-A Portland Beavers, where he would round out the season. He hit .315 with 4 home runs in 30 games. Ramirez set numerous career highs in 2007, including batting average (.283), RBI's (61), hits (117), stolen bases (28), games played (112), runs scored (63), and doubles (20).

Following the 2007 season, Ramirez became a minor league free agent. On November 16, 2007, the Houston Astros signed him to a major league contract.