Wilson Ramos

The Mets reeled Ramos in last winter on a two-year, $19 million deal, a pittance for a player who posted a 132 wRC+ in 2018. Ramos couldn't replicate that career-best mark, but he still paid off for fantasy managers, playing the third-most games among catchers while batting .288 with 14 homers and 73 RBI. He was less valuable in real-life terms, however, rating poorly as a pitch framer and struggling to control the run game, as he yielded 21 more steals than any other backstop. Even his power was more questionable than the surface stats suggest; Ramos' average launch angle was zero degrees, lowest among all hitters with at least 100 batted-ball events. The underwhelming pool of catchers will help prop Ramos' value up again, but his defensive shortcomings, escalating groundball rate and poor track record of durability prior to 2019 put him at risk of seeing his numbers dip more than some may assume.

Ramos was one of fantasy's top catchers in 2018, slashing .297/.346/.488 with the Rays and .337/.396/.483 with Philadelphia after a trade. He cleared a .300 batting average for the second time in three seasons while delivering a 147 wRC+ against lefties and ridiculous opposite-field numbers: seven homers, .482 average and .267 wRC+ -- the fourth-best mark in the league. His power is among the best at the position (outside of Gary Sanchez). While Ramos has posted at least a 52% groundball rate each season since 2012, he's reached 20% HR/FB in each of the past three. When Ramos lifts it, it travels. Even if he gives back batting average for more power, or vice versa, Ramos should boast the overall production to climb toward the top of the catcher rankings again. The 31-year-old landed with the Mets in free agency.

A torn ACL near the end of 2016 kept Ramos sidelined for the first three months of the 2017 season, but he still ended up playing in 64 games for his new club, compiling a .260/.290/.447 slash line with 11 homers in 224 plate appearances. While his numbers represented a sizable step back from his All-Star campaign in 2016, we're willing to chalk that up mostly to rust coming off the knee injury. He started off slow upon returning, hitting just .200/.228/.360 in his first 23 games, but improved greatly in each of the final two months of the season, slashing .274/.321/.411 in August (22 games) followed by an impressive .317/.328/.600 in September (19 games) to close out the year. Ramos has never played more than 135 games in a season -- and may never do so -- but when healthy, he's among the more potent bats at the position.

Ramos put it all together at the plate in 2016, as his strikeout rate returned to his pre-2015 level while his BABIP and ISO both soared, resulting in career highs in just about every hitting category (he even tied his career high in steals). Disaster struck just a week before the end of the regular season, though, when he blew out his knee -- the second time he has endured such an injury, which is extremely concerning, given his position. The injury cost the Nationals one of their biggest bats for the playoffs and also cost him a qualifying offer or a big contract from Washington. Instead, Ramos will head to Tampa on a two-year prove-it deal, getting a chance to DH while he fully recovers from surgery and still makes a contribution. The optimistic timetable puts him into regular-season action in early May, but seasoned owners should only pay for four months of production, on the high end.

Ramos played the most games he has played in a season in 2015. He has developed as the Nationals' everyday starter at catcher and was their number one option throughout this entire season. As you would expect from a catcher he did take a lot of days off but these were mainly for rest reasons and not a result of any injuries. In a 109-hit season Ramos managed a .229/.258/.358 slash line with 15 home runs and 68 RBI while adding 16 doubles as well. Ramos is a power-hitting catcher which comes with a high strikeout count. Barring a setback, Ramos will continue to be Washington's starting catcher and he'll be a relevant fantasy option in most formats.

Ramos just can't seem to stay in one piece, as an early-season hamstring strain and broken hamate bone limited him to just 88 games in 2014. While that's an improvement on the year before, it's still not the kind of track record you want to see in someone playing a physically-demanding position like catcher. When he's actually on the field, Ramos continues to supply solid power numbers at the plate and above-average defense behind it, and his August performance (six home runs in 87 at-bats and a .241 ISO) certainly provides more hope that a healthy Ramos will be a very productive Ramos. However, there's little evidence to suggest that he can actually stay healthy for more than a couple of months at a stretch. He's a good upside play if you can get him at a reduced price due to the injuries, but don't pay full retail for that upside.

If anyone deserved to have a breakthrough campaign it was Ramos, the victim of a 2011 kidnapping. While his bat obliged, his hamstrings weren't as cooperative. Still, 16 home runs in just 287 at-bats is an eye-popping number for a catcher especially when it comes paired with a solid .272 batting average, so Ramos should be one of the first backstops off the board in fantasy drafts this year. Given his injury history we'd feel a little more comfortable if the Nationals had a reliable backup on the roster to ease his workload though.

If any player was entitled to a break in 2012 it was Ramos, who survived a kidnapping in November, but the baseball gods were fickle and instead his season ended in May after he tore his ACL. The Nationals ran through a number of catchers in his absence but none of them did especially well, and the knee should be fine for the beginning of spring training, so assuming his Jobian luck changes, Ramos' job as the starter behind the plate should be secure. Expecting him to build on his solid 2011 season at the plate as well might be asking a little too much, however.

Ramos put together a very good rookie season in 2011 showing more patience at the plate than previously advertised (8.7 percent walk rate), and producing an elevated HR/FB ratio of 13.4 percent. He is an above average defensive catcher, and ranked ninth in baseball among qualified catchers in terms of weighted OBA (.332). Look for his strikeout rate to come down a bit, as his swinging-strike rate showed improvement last season. Look for his average to improve, but his OBP should remain the same, as his walk rate is likely to decrease. Fortunately, Ramos was rescued from kidnappers in Venezuela during the offseason, and he should be ready to go for the start of spring training after the scary incident.

Defensively, Ramos is everything you could want in a catcher, with a big-time arm that should make any potential basestealer think twice or even thrice before taking off. At the plate, though, he's still a work in progress, with little plate discipline and a swing-for-the-fences approach. The Nationals will take a very long look at both Ramos and Jesus Flores in spring training, and there's no guarantee that Ramos is the one who will end up splitting time in the majors with the ghost of Ivan Rodriguez. Further complicating the backstop picture is the presence of Derek Norris in the system behind them, though he's at least a year away. By Opening Day, Ramos could be starting in the bigs, or at Triple-A, or learning the ropes backing up I-Rod, or in another organization entirely. The first two options seem the most likely, but don't expect much value in the short term even in the best-case scenario.

Ramos has become one of Minnesota's top prospects with a good eye at the plate and strong throwing arm. He missed significant time last season due to a hamstring injury, but still posted showed strong plate discipline and decent power. His path to the majors is blocked by Joe Mauer and with Jose Morales emerging as Mauer's backup, Ramos may need to be traded to another organization to find a regular role in the majors. Still, he's a keeper to grab for when he eventually finds major league playing time.

Ramos has climbed to the upper ranks of Minnesota's prospects with good power at the plate and a strong throwing arm behind the plate. He'll start the season at Double-A and could become Joe Mauer's backup in 2010 or a trade chip in the offseason.