6 years agoLast season Yan Gomes had his best offensive year since his breakout in 2014. Hitting to a .266 AVG, he swatted 16 HR with 52 R and 48 RBI, pretty solid numbers for only 112 games. The right-hander finished fourth in total runs and 10th in RBI by a catcher, and his batting average would have ranked second to J.T. Realmuto among qualified backstops. Gomes set new career highs in LD% (27.2%) and Hard % (43.2%), so it’s no fluke he had such a high batting mark. If he didn’t also set a new high in strikeout numbers, his average could have seen even more improvement. His 14.2% SwStr% aided to a hideous 27.4% K% and his low 4.8% BB% isn’t a mark to admire either. Moving from Cleveland to the Washington Nationals this year, Gomes will be in a platoon role once again with Kurt Suzuki. These limited at-bats naturally limit the amount of counting stats, but with only six catchers playing in 125 games or more in 2018, the 31-year-old can still end up being a top-10 producer in these categories. The poor strikeout peripherals are certainly damaging, but if he continues to hit the ball hard and on a line, the batting average will at the very least stay in the range of his .248 career mark. Nationals Park is also an upgrade from Progressive Field, so another mid-teen HR total is bankable. At his current 232 ADP, he’s the ninth backstop off the board. Although he may not have as much upside as the younger players at his position, he’s a safe option to target in the third tier of catchers.--Riley Mrack - RotoBaller