He is the most promising young position player in the Tigers’ minor league system. Big things have been predicted for him ever since he first caught Jim Leyland’s eye during training camp two springs ago. 
        Nevertheless, when Wilkin Ramirez received the call late Monday night, ordering him to report to Comerica Park as soon as possible to temporarily replace Magglio Ordonez, who is on bereavement leave, he got so excited, he admitted Tuesday, that he “almost cried.
        “Almost,” Ramirez said again for emphasis, just so nobody gets the wrong idea.
        “He’s got a lot of talent, he’s strong and he’s fast,” Leyland said. “He’s got two real pluses: Power and speed. You don’t find that very often. He can fly.”
        The 23-year-old Ramirez has been compared to former Tiger prize prospect Cameron Maybin, who was traded to Florida in the Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis deal. Both are blessed with speed and power, although Maybin is better defensively and has a better arm.
        Leyland predicted this spring that Ramirez, who is also an outfielder, will either develop into a big league star someday _  or fall off the radar screen. There will be no in-between.
        “That’s just my opinion, but I probably still think that,” the Tigers’ manager said Tuesday. “If that talent can click, he’ll be a regular player and probably a very good one.”
        Ramirez was in Charlotte, N.C., with the Toledo Mud Hens when he was summoned to fill in for Ordonez, whose wife is undergoing major surgery. Ramirez’s wife and their young son were living in Lakeland, Fla. So while Wilkin flew to Detroit from Charlotte on Tuesday, his wife and son flew north from Lakeland.
        “They had better fly up,” he said, smiling at the thought of his family seeing him in the big leagues for the first time.
        Ramirez will rejoin Toledo as soon as Ordonez returns, probably after Thursday’s matinee, so the Tigers didn’t even bother to put his name on his locker. He will wear No. 60.
        Ramirez was so new he didn’t even know how to leave complimentary tickets to Tuesday night’s game for his family. Clubhouse attendance Tyson Steele had to show him.
        Ramirez also didn’t know that  Leyland had already announced plans to employ Wilkin as the Tigers’ designated hitter against Texas left hander Matt Harrison on Wednesday night.
        “Thank you for telling me,” he said to a reporter, smiling again, when informed of his pending big league debut.
        You can tell he’s a rookie.
        Ramirez, who has been gradually working his way up through the Tigers’ farm system since he signed as an undrafted free agent in 2003,  was batting .316 with five home runs and 13 RBI in 30 games at Toledo.
        “He’s hit in streaks,” said Leyland. “He’s getting his feet wet at a higher level.” Last year, Ramirez batted .303 at Double-A Erie.
        Ramirez’s stay in the big leagues will be brief this time. But he will be back. You can bet on that.