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"\"&lt;p&gt;James Ramsey\\u2019s pro baseball career has taken the express lane since the 23-year-old outfielder was selected by the Cardinals in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2012 draft. The four-year Florida State product went immediately to the high Class A level for his pro debut and then spent most of his first full season in 2013 in Double-A before finishing the year with one game in Triple-A.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Thus it\\u2019s not surprising that Ramsey finds himself as one of the Cardinals representatives in the prestigious Arizona Fall League.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;The AFL has a long-established reputation as the \\u201cfinishing school\\u201d for baseball\\u2019s top prospects. Ramsey, who takes a very cerebral approach to the game, should feel right at home during the upcoming six-week season. Ask him his goals for his stint in Arizona and Ramsey replies with a detailed and thoughtful explanation.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;figure id=\\\"attachment_92532\\\" style=\\\"width: 300px\\\" class=\\\"wp-caption alignright\\\"&gt;&lt;img class=\\\"size-medium wp-image-92532\\\" alt=\\\"James Ramsey\\\" src=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.baseballamerica.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/james-ramsey-2013-bm-300x211.jpg\\\" width=\\\"300\\\" height=\\\"211\\\" srcset=\\\"http:\\/\\/www.baseballamerica.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/james-ramsey-2013-bm-300x211.jpg 300w, http:\\/\\/www.baseballamerica.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/james-ramsey-2013-bm-127x90.jpg 127w, http:\\/\\/www.baseballamerica.com\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/2013\\/10\\/james-ramsey-2013-bm.jpg 900w\\\" sizes=\\\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\\\" \\/&gt;&lt;figcaption class=\\\"wp-caption-text\\\"&gt;James Ramsey (Photo by Bill Mitchell)&lt;\\/figcaption&gt;&lt;\\/figure&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cMentally, my approaches have been pretty decent,\\u201d Ramsey explained. \\u201cI think my physical execution of those approaches could be better at times. So having this six-week process against a lot of great pitchers and great players\\u2013really, I\\u2019m just here to learn, be a sponge, talk to guys that have been successful in areas that I want to be successful in.\\u201d&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Ramsey is coming off a strong season in which he hit a combined .265\\/.373\\/.440 between the high Class A, Double-A, and Triple-A levels. Most importantly, Ramsey silenced the doubters who wondered whether he would develop enough power to become a well-rounded hitter at the big league level. After going deep just once in his first pro season, the lefthanded hitter smacked 16 homers in 2013. Ramsey attributes his work with Double-A Springfield manager Mike Shildt and hitting coach Phillip Wellman for the increase in over the fence pop.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cThere were some mechanical adjustments to make just to quiet everything down &amp;#8230; to quiet my lower half, to work on using my top hand more to get on top of the ball \\u2026 just some things, more so stance-wise, just to kind of feel more comfortable, feel like I\\u2019m a little more upright, and it definitely paid dividends in the power side of things,\\u201d he said.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Shildt, who will again manage Ramsey in the AFL as the skipper of the Salt River Rafters, wasn\\u2019t surprised by the power surge he saw during the regular season.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cIt was a combination of things,\\u201d Shildt said. \\u201cJames has some raw power. You watch this guy take BP and he\\u2019ll launch some balls. The power\\u2019s always been in there. It was really just a matter of him getting under control. He had a lot of moving parts \\u2026 He got to understand to just slow everything down, improve his balance to make more consistent contact, and the ball started jumping off his bat.\\u201d&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;His game isn\\u2019t just about driving the ball out of the park\\u2013not by a long shot. Ramsey prides himself on his all-around game, with above-average speed and an aggressive approach that allows his tools to play up in the outfield and on the bases.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Ramsey also brings a reputation as being a team leader, going back to his college days when he was the first Seminole to wear the captain\\u2019s \\u201cC\\u201d on his uniform. It\\u2019s a trait that gives Ramsey carries with pride, but he also acknowledges that being a leader in the professional game is different from the \\u201crah rah\\u201d atmosphere of high school or college.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cI don\\u2019t have to show up every day and tell people I want to lead them,\\u201d Ramsey said. \\u201cI think I go about my business in a blue collar way and live my life the way it seems to have others ask questions about what I do and my beliefs \\u2026 My teammates know they\\u2019re going to get the best of me every day when I show up at the park, and that\\u2019s something that I hope will continue on into the next levels.\\u201d&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Shildt acknowledged that Ramsey\\u2019s type of leadership is something the Cardinals organization values in all of their players.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cHe\\u2019s a fine young man, a stand-up guy, a very solid Christian and just the kind of guy we look forward to him leading himself,\\u201d Shildt said, \\u201cbut also lead by example and eventually be able to lead through being more vocal.\\u201d&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;Ramsey also had a reputation during his four years at Florida State of being involved in community service. He was already delving into similar opportunities here within days after arriving in Arizona.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u201cI love just being around people and spending time,\\u201d Ramsey said. \\u201cI\\u2019m getting plugged into different organizations that I\\u2019m looking forward to doing some of the community service outlets that they have out here.\\u201d&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE NOTES&lt;\\/strong&gt;&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u2022 The newest Arizona Fall League franchise is the Glendale Desert Dogs, with the former Phoenix team being relocated across town to the Camelback Ranch facility, spring training home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. In addition, the Peoria Javelinas will be based temporarily at Surprise Stadium while renovations are completed to their home park at the Peoria Sports Complex.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u2022 This year\\u2019s AFL managerial lineup includes: Glendale Desert Dogs &amp;#8211; Jeff Smith (Twins), Mesa Solar Sox \\u2013 Bill Richardson (Angels), Scottsdale Scorpions \\u2013 Russ Morman (Giants), Peoria Javelinas \\u2013 Jim Pankovits (Mariners), Salt River Rafters \\u2013 Mike Shildt (Cardinals) and Surprise Saguaros \\u2013 Gary Kendall (Orioles).&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n&lt;p&gt;\\u2022 The Arizona Fall League will host the first Bowman Hitting Challenge on Saturday, October 12 at Salt River Fields. One AFL player from each MLBl organization will compete in a unique hitting skills contest that will award points for home runs as well as hitting on-field targets with both batted and bunted balls.&lt;\\/p&gt;\\n\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/power-surge-gets-ramsey-on-track-to-st-louis/>