RADIO
J.T. Realmuto 2023 Player Outlook: Another Year Older, But No Signs of Slowing Down
2 years agoA lot of people expected Realmuto to begin to fall off in his age-31 season in 2022, and it was certainly seeming like that was happening after he was slashing just .226/.290/.323 in late May. From then on, however, Realmuto was one of the most valuable fantasy bats in the entire game. He finished the year with a strong .274/.340/.476 slash line with 22 homers and 21 steals, becoming one of only seven hitters to put up a 20-20 season. It was all the more valuable for fantasy managers getting that kind of production out of their catcher slot, and I expect most Realmuto teams did quite well last season. His health is still a slight concern just because it's not easy to be a veteran player playing this many games behind the plate - but to his credit, it has not been an issue thus far. I can't make a strong case to not draft Realmuto as the first catcher off the board, but I do think the downside given his age might be a reason to balk at the draft cost, which is sure to be high after his elite 2022 season.
