Washington Nationals Wilson Ramos: Rebound Candidate?

Wilson Ramos has failed to live up to the expectations for both the Washington Nationals and fantasy owners. But, after offseason Lasik surgery, could this be the season where can rebound?

Those that have either played or watched baseball long enough have always heard the saying to, “trust your eyes and hands”. With pitches whizzing by batters at 95+ mph regularly, it is no secret to anyone, that quality eyesight and pitch recognition is vital. This brings us to Wilson Ramos, and his offseason Lasik surgery, that will hopefully go a long way in restoring his ability at the plate.

In most single catcher leagues, the usual draft strategy for owners is to wait on catching until the latter portion of the draft. Between injuries and wear and tear, owners have shifted away from investing a premium pick at the position. For the last handful of years, Ramos has been of the prime late round options for owners thanks to his raw power.

Unfortunately for Ramos and scorned fantasy owners, Ramos’ career has been littered with injuries and it has truly hindered fantasy owners the ability to see what he could do over a full season. Prior to last season, Ramos’ career high in games played was 113 in 2011, between 2012-2014 he played a total of 191 games, so it is clear that fantasy owners have never been able to get a good read on his value.

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To put it bluntly, Ramos was terrible in 2015. He played in a career high 128 games and notched 15 HR, but his K rate climbed to 20%, his OPS fell down to .616, and his AVG was only .229. His struggles were especially rough in the second half, as he could only muster a, .197 AVG/7 HR/30 RBI/.543 OPS, line.

While owners cannot attribute all of his struggles to impaired eyesight, for him to take such a drastic measure such as Lasik surgery, something tells me that he really had a problem distinguishing pitches. Ramos has already echoed that in his comments after getting back from surgery and the immediate results he felt.

"“I feel more excited because now I feel amazing at the plate,” he said. “I can see the ball really really well. That helps me to feel more confident at the plate. Just for to swing at balls in the strike zone and not swing at bad pitches. I want to help my team. I want to do a better job than last year.” (source)"

So far this spring his stats have backed his confidence as seen through his , .391/3 HR/5 RBI/1.217 OPS/3 SO, line over 23 at bats. He is seeing pitches better at the plate and that should play a big factor in making this season his best chance at finally emerging. Scouts around baseball have also noticed that he looks to be in better shape as well, hopefully signifying just how committed Ramos seems to be to making an impact in 2016.

His current draft stock is at an all-time low. He is barely coming in as a top-20 drafted catcher, and for the most part he usually goes undrafted. So for fantasy owners that are looking for a late round catcher flier, why not looks to Ramos one more time.

Outside of his eyesight, he did post a 20% LD rate, and a solid 58% medium contact rate last season. The Nationals lineup should be one of the better units in the National League, so his counting stats should remain solid even if he slides into the eight hole.

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Ramos is not going to wow the room and some may question why  fantasy owners would go back to seemingly a barren well again, but between his surgery and the immediate results, the intrigue has returned. Fantasy owners should target him in the last rounds of drafts this spring, because if there were ever going to be a season where he puts it together, 2016 will be it.