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Washington Nationals 2016 Player Preview: Wilson Ramos

By Ricky Keeler

Mar 30, 2016; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos (40) tags out New York Mets third baseman David Wright (5) at home plate in the first inning during a spring training game at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 30, 2016; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos (40) tags out New York Mets third baseman David Wright (5) at home plate in the first inning during a spring training game at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Our player preview series continues as we look at what Wilson Ramos might do in the final year of his deal

This season, there are two key players on the Washington Nationals who are entering the final year of their contracts. Those two players are pitcher Stephen Strasburg and catcher Wilson Ramos. While Ramos played in over 110 games last season for the first time since 2011, his numbers were less than what people expected.

Last season, Ramos had a slash line of .229/.258/.358 with 15 home runs and 68 RBI’s. In the second half of the year, the 28-year-old (who will be 29 in August) had a batting average of .197, which was the lowest of any player on the roster and the second lowest of any catcher who had 100+ at-bats (Yasmani Grandal of the Dodgers hit .162)

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So far, Ramos has had a productive spring, like many of the Nats’ offensive players. In 12 games, he is hitting .313 with three home runs and five RBI’s. During this spring, Ramos underwent LASIK surgery to fix his vision. Although it is a small sample size, he has had a hit in six of his last eight games and he had eight hits in his last 22 at-bats.

Heading into 2016, Ramos will be under the microscope because of his impending free agency, but he is still one of the better offensive catchers in the National League in terms of power. According to Fangraphs’ STEAMER projections, his 13 home runs would be tied for fifth among NL catchers behind Kyle Schwarber, Buster Posey, Devin Mesoraco, and Travis d’Arnaud.

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Last season, Ramos had a WAR of 0.8, which was the lowest of his career. However, his dWAR of 1.8 was the highest of his career. While he is good at throwing out baserunners on a consistent basis, one of the criticisms of Ramos has been how he handles plays at the plate. But, he did have a good tag Wednesday on David Wright from a throw by Ben Revere in the top of the first.

When you look at the Nationals in 2016, there aren’t many surprise candidates because a lot of players are hoping to stay healthy after injury-plagued seasons a year ago. For me, I would consider Ramos my surprise candidate on the Washington Nationals because he is going to be more consistent at the bottom of the order and he is capable of being a 15+ home run player.

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In fact, when you look at Baseball Reference’s projections for Ramos, they have him hitting 17 home runs, which would be a career-high. If he can do that and give the Nats more consistent production at the plate, he will have a bounceback season as he heads towards free agency.

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