Fantasy Baseball 2018 Sleepers Outside the Top 200: Wilson Ramos

It’s obvious that one of the most important components of a winning fantasy team is finding players late that produce like early picks. Those are “sleepers.” The deeper the sleeper, the more impactful they can be; that’s why I’m going to highlight sleepers outside the Top 200 ADP (Average Draft Position) throughout Spring Training as you prep for draft day. All ADP data is courtesy of FantasyPros.com.

Today, we look at Rays C Wilson Ramos.

Last season was middling for Ramos, who emerged as a fine option at catcher in 2016. He finished 2017 with a .260/.290/.447 slash line, 11 home runs and 35 RBI in 64 games (224 plate appearances). It’s unfair to judge him too harshly, as he got a late start and was coming off a serious knee injury late in 2016, but those who drafted and stashed him were left wanting. The raw numbers obviously weren’t going to be there, but his .290 OBP was the killer. Ramos had gotten on base at a .354 clip the previous year, and combined with his 22 home runs he was a huge value at a position that torpedoes multiple owners annually.

Ramos’ career has been a bit of a mixed bag, which is why his current ADP (205) is so low despite some real upside. He hasn’t been a super consistent producer of power, but in 2013 he smacked 16 homers in just 78 games, and he’s hit at least 15 home runs four times. That seems middling, but only 13 catcher-eligible players hit 15 or more homers in 2017. One catcher who didn’t, Evan Gattis, is currently the seventh off the board as of now at the position. He seems like a fairly safe bet to flirt with 20 bombs in 2018 if he stays healthy; meanwhile, Mike Zunino, who has hit 20+ homers only twice, and hit .199 in one of those campaigns, is being drafted 30 picks earlier than Ramos.

Despite Ramos’ struggles last year, his power profile remained consistent. His home run to fly ball rate was nearly identical to his breakout 2016, his fly ball rate actually jumped up five points, and he started to become a much more pull-heavy hitter. That’s not good for him as an overall hitter, but it could be signaling a conscious effort to hit for more power. It is also worth nothing that despite his drop in OBP, and his spiking pull rate, his strikeout percentage barely moved.

Ramos doesn’t have the potential to enter the realm of Gary Sanchez or Buster Posey, but he could easily finish as a Top 5 catcher. Rather than aim for a player like Zunino, who could hit 25+ home runs but has never hit better than .250, you’re better off waiting for a better hitter who can still crack 20 in the HR department.