January 9, 2020

For the first few months of 2019, everybody was trying to figure out what was wrong with Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez. After an MVP- caliber year in 2018, Ramirez slumped to a .218-6-34-24-18 line between April and June of 2019. The stolen base numbers were all that remained of the breakout campaign and his power seemed totally gone. He ranked 27th among all third baseman with a .344 slugging percentage and 25th with a .126 ISO, but there never seemed to be a clear reason for his lack of success. His production had just fallen off a cliff at 26-years-old. Until it didn't. Starting in July, the old Ramirez began to return. In July, he posted a line of .320-6-25-21-4 in 106 at-bats. He fractured a bone in his hand in August and missed the majority of the rest of the season, but his post-All-Star Break numbers (.327-16-48-29-6) suggest that he had broken out of the slump. Headed into 2020 at only 27-years-old, there's no reason to believe three months at the beginning of 2019 carry more weight than his explosive 2017 and 2018 seasons. Even before he found his power stroke, he was a relatively high average hitter who will now hit in the middle of a lineup that features a healthy Francisco Lindor, Carlos Santana, newly-signed Cesar Hernandez, and full seasons of Franmil Reyes and Oscar Mercado. There's no reason not to expect another season of 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases, as a safe estimate, with a solid average and 80-plus runs. That's more than worth the 19th-overall pick where he is currently being taken in drafts, behind unproven Fernando Tatis Jr.--Eric Samulski