Washington Nationals: Why Wilson Ramos Should Start All-Star Game
By Ricky Keeler
With Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos having a great first half, he has a good case to start in the All-Star Game
In less than a month, there should be a few players representing the Washington Nationals in the All-Star Game. One of those players that have a good chance to make a second trip to PETCO Park this season is catcher Wilson Ramos. Last night, in the first game of the series against the San Diego Padres, Ramos went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in the Nats’ 8-5 win.
June has been a great month so far for the Washington Nationals catcher. He is 17-for-45 (.378) with 12 runs scored, five home runs, and 13 RBi’s. This month, he is sixth in the National League in RBI’s, tied for fifth in home runs, and tied for fifth in runs scored.
After a down year in 2015, Ramos is having a great season so far. He has a slash line of .339/.388/.568 with 11 home runs and 38 RBI’s. In the last ten games alone, he has driven in at least one run in eight of them and he has three multi-hit games in his last four (6-for-15, two home runs, three RBI’s).
During the Washington Nationals win over San Diego last night, Ramos saw 22 pitches in five at-bats, which was tied with Anthony Rendon for the second most of any Nats hitter and one behind Jayson Werth/Stephen Drew. During that home run at-bat, he hit a fastball from Erik Johnson on the sixth pitch of the at-bat over the right field wall after starting the at-bat with a 3-0 count.
This season, Ramos is one of the more clutch players on the Washington Nationals roster. In 55 at-bats with runners in scoring position, Ramos is hitting .382 with two home runs and 28 RBI’s to go with a .444 on-base percentage. One of those RBI’s came in the ninth inning on Wednesday when he singled against Cubs closer Hector Rondon to tie the game.
If you look at the most recent National League All-Star voting update that was announced Wednesday, Ramos is in third place among NL catchers behind Buster Posey of the Giants and Yadier Molina of the Cardinals. But, in most categories, Ramos ranks as the best catcher in the NL.
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Among catchers, Ramos has the most home runs and RBI’s, the highest batting average, slugging percentage and .OPS, as well as the second highest WAR at 1.6 (Jonathan Lucroy leads with 2.0). Plus, if you add in the defensive numbers, Ramos has thrown out 35% of baserunners trying to steal (fifth in the NL).
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In a contract year, Ramos has made the decision that much tougher for the Washington Nationals on whether or not to re-sign him this winter. Last night, with Ryan Zimmerman and Daniel Murphy off, Ramos moved up to the cleanup spot and continued to stay on a hot streak at the plate.
At the very least, he should be on the All-Star team next month and play in his first All-Star game. But, Ramos has an excellent case to be the starter for the NL. If that is going to happen, all of the fans need to go on MLB.com and vote for Ramos.