January 16, 2020

Wilson Ramos’ problem has always been getting the ball in the air. He has never exceeded an average launch angle of 5.9 during the Statcast era, and last season was the lowest yet: exactly 0.0. He was in the 70th percentile in hard hit rate and exit velocity, but only the 27th percentile in xwOBA. After years of ground balls from Ramos and with MLB now years into the launch angle revolution, there’s no reason to expect the 32-year-old to suddenly start hitting fly balls everywhere. That might not necessarily be the worst thing at Citi Field, perennially one of the worst parks for home run hitters, but it’s still a cap on his upside. Despite that, he has had a wRC+ of at least 91 in all but one season, including marks of 132 and 105 the last two years. He’s hit double figure home runs every year since 2013 (albeit only once exceeding 16) and never had a batting average below .260. Since 2018, he’s hit .296 in 855 at-bats, but be forewarned that has come with just a .264 xBA. For a catcher, however, he would retain some value even were he to hit .264 with another 12-15 home runs, which is pretty much his floor. Ramos has been the seventh backstop off the board with an ADP of 179, at which spot he's a decent fallback option if you plan to draft a catcher but miss out on the top three. Just don't reach for him early expecting another .300 average.--Nathaniel Green