Jose Ramirez

In a time of statistical volatility, it sure is nice to be able to count on the volume Ramirez produces despite the lack of supporting talent around him. Ramirez and Mike Trout lead all active players with five 20-20 seasons as Ramirez has achieved those marks in each of the past five full seasons while both accepting his walks and eschewing striking out. His 2022 and 2023 seasons by batting average and OBP were practically identical, but there was a significant dropoff in RBI as the lineup around Ramirez struggled to get runners into scoring position. Cleveland did not help that cause by focusing on slappy contact hitters and trading away Nolan Jones, but we digress. The 100-RBI plateau may be tough for Ramirez to get to once again if the lineup around him is not improved, but the volume is money in the bank as the hamate bone injury of 2019 is the only injury he has incurred in recent years.

Ramirez is a machine who consistently pumps out terrific fantasy seasons yet rarely goes first overall in a draft. He finished as the third best player behind Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt this year despite playing two-thirds of the season with a hand injury, which required offseason surgery. Ramirez set a career high in RBIs thanks to better talent in front of him in the lineup, while his homers and runs scored numbers dropped, likely due to the hand injury and the inconsistent talent behind him in the lineup. The 2022 season was the fourth consecutive season in which he swiped 20 or more bases in a full season as well. The only knock on him is that he is a mere human at the plate when he hits righty, but only because he is so terrific hitting from the other side, where he spends 80 percent of his time in the box. He still is unlikely to go first overall in a draft, but he is money in the bank when he is in the lineup with infinitesimal risk in his profile.

Ramirez compiled another exemplary season, albeit with his second-lowest batting average since becoming a full-time player in 2016. However, he made up for it with bountiful counting stats, including a new personal high in runs. Ramirez's average exit velocity and average exit velocity on flyballs were both career bests. As good as his campaign was, Statcast has him five homers shy of his expected total. Ramirez swiped only eight bases through the break, but he ran wild over the second half, collecting 19 more while being caught just twice. Other than a low average, if there's a fault with Ramirez, it's inconsistency. While he did post a low .799 OPS in July, he ranged between .864 and .977 the other five months. Other than 2019, Ramirez hasn't missed more than 10 games in a season as a fulltime player. Durability, reliability, and a treasure trove of counting stats lands Ramirez among the elite hitters.

It hadn't been entirely clear which version of Ramirez would show up over the past few seasons, as he'd mixed excellent stretches with frustratingly poor ones. Those who took a chance on him last year wound up thrilled with the results, however, as he finished as one of the most valuable players in the league. We saw the good version of Ramirez all year, as he posted a .292/.386/.607 slash line with 17 homers and 10 steals, finishing tied for fourth and tied for 10th in the latter two categories. Despite the dominant season, there are reasons to maintain at least a bit of the usual skepticism about Ramirez heading into 2021. He's had 60-game stretches like last season's in the past, so his 2020 numbers weren't breaking new ground, and Statcast didn't fully support his numbers, giving him a .265 xBA and a .510 xSLG. Still, Ramirez doesn't have to repeat his 2020 numbers this year to be quite a strong option.

The 2019 season for Ramirez was a three-part play. The opening act saw the 2018 MVP candidate hit .214/.309/.325 over the first three months of the season with five HR. The 18 steals helped sustain some value in what looked like a completely lost season for many fantasy owners' first-round pick, but it was obviously not the production they envisioned. The second act saw Ramirez hit .320/.354/.691 from July 1 until he broke his hamate bone Aug. 24, with 15 HR, six steals and 45 runs driven in. Joey Gallo injured his hamate two weeks earlier than Ramirez and never came back in 2019. All Ramirez did was come back in the final week of the season, hit three more HR in three games, knock in eight more runs and try his best to push his club into the postseason. Another 30-30 season could be in store for Ramirez in 2020 if he can recover his OBP skills from 2018 as he did in the second half.

At the end of July, Ramirez was fantasy's most valuable player, having hit .298/.408/.630 with 32 home runs and 25 stolen bases through 105 games. Ramirez then limped to a .210/.343/.387 line with seven homers and nine steals over his final 52 regular-season games. So, how much do we downgrade him because of that late slide? Per Statcast, Ramirez had a .209 xBA, .339 xSLG and 87.3 mph average exit velocity over the final two months, so it wasn't just all bad luck. His average flyball distance was also down to 181 feet down the stretch (203 feet over the first four months). The final numbers were still elite, but given the caliber of talent in the game today, it's not unreasonable to think Ramirez, a top-five overall earner in 2018, should perhaps fall closer to the 1-2 turn in mixed leagues.

Following his breakout 2016 campaign, Ramirez arguably was the top player for a 102-win Indians squad last season, raising his production in every meaningful fantasy category except steals. Even so, Ramirez still swiped 17 bags to go with 29 long balls, making him one of only four players in baseball to reach both benchmarks. Even the MLB-wide jump in power wasn't enough to dim the luster on his 115-point improvement in ISO, and Ramirez's sterling plate discipline, downward-trending GB/FB rate and ability to spray the ball around the yard are skills that make him a good bet to keep his average near or above .300. Moreover, Ramirez's placement in the heart of a potent lineup should keep propping up his run and RBI outputs, making the 25-year-old one of the few true five-category contributors. Due to Jason Kipnis missing extensive time last season, Ramirez regained eligibility at the keystone in addition to third base heading into 2018, further burnishing his credentials as a worthy selection in the first two rounds of fantasy drafts.

If we simply combined Ramirez's 2014 and 2015 production, we all would have seen 2016 coming, right? Well, except his batting average would have been around .240 instead of the .312 he hit last season. Ramirez went from an afterthought on draft day to a serviceable fantasy asset in 2016 in many ways. The power department is a bit light, but he should score runs, drive some in, steal bases and hit for average while qualifying at both third base and the outfield in 2017. He is an extreme contact hitter who sprays the ball around the yard. There could be some more thump on the way if his positive GB/FB trend continues and he gets some HR/FB fluctuation. He is just 24 but already has over 1,250 plate appearances in the big leagues. Ramirez looks like a bat-first player instead of the glove-first prospect profile that got him to the majors at 21. Don't bank on growth, but even his new foundation will help as a fantasy depth piece.

Ramirez opened the season as the Tribe's starting shortstop but struggles at both the plate and in the field got him shipped out to Triple-A Columbus two months into the season. He was hitting .176/.243/.235 at the time of his demotion despite a respectable strikeout (13.8%) and walk (7.5%) rate that was undermined by a .200 BABIP mark. A .293/.354/.408 mark in 44 games earned him a promotion back to Cleveland when Jason Kipnis landed on the DL in August and he saw time at second base, third base and left field upon his return. He rewarded the Indians with a .259/.337/.438 line over his last 40 games, dropping his strikeout rate (8.2%) and bumping up his walk rate (10.4%) along the way. Barring a trade, Ramirez is positioned to serve as a backup infielder in Cleveland for 2016.

When Asdrubal Cabrera was traded away, many were surprised that Cleveland did not call up uber-prospect Francisco Lindor to see what he could do at the big league level. Ramirez quickly showed why that was not necessary. At the plate, he held his own despite his youth and swiped 10 bases in 11 tries, but Ramirez really shined in the field. Slash and dash is the name of the game for Ramirez while he looks over his shoulder to see what Lindor is up to on the farm. He's a nice late-round speed source for AL-only players, while mixed leaguers can pick him up in the reserves.

The Indians have a plethora of middle-infield prospects and it's easy to overlook a guy like Ramirez as a result. He received a short look with the Indians in September to give the team some speed off the bench, but he spent the rest of the season at Double-A Akron as a 20-year-old, hitting .272/.325/.349 with 38 steals. It certainly wasn't as impressive as his 2012 season (.354/.404/.465), but keep in mind that he skipped High-A entirely. He doesn't strike out much and has a decent enough eye at the plate to take full advantage of his speed. Ramirez won't hit for power, but his speed makes him an intriguing fantasy prospect at the keystone should he find his way into a situation where he's no longer blocked by Jason Kipnis.