Rays: Wilson Ramos is the fantasy catcher to own for the second-half

Wilson Ramos made his long-awaited debut for the Rays just a matter of weeks ago, yet has impressed already. But, is he now worth a waiver wire add moving forward?

The Rays are right in the thick of things in the AL East, and after seemingly being wrote off before the season even started, now appear to be a viable threat to overtake the Red Sox. While we have already seen some teams make big moves to bolster their teams, the Rays had their own big return in the form of, Wilson Ramos, a few weeks ago.

But, could Wilson Ramos be the waiver wire add that puts owners over the top in the second-half?

Wilson Ramos had a career year in 2016, .307/22 HR/80 RBI/.850 OPS, and would have surely cashed in big time in the offseason if not for a fluke ACL injury. The Rays astutely took a gamble on him in the offseason, inking him to a two-year deal. 

More from Fantasy Baseball

• 5 fantasy baseball waiver wire pivots to replace Triston McKenzie
• Fantasy baseball mock draft 2023, 12-team: Aaron Judge over Trea Turner?
• 3 fantasy baseball sleepers being drafted too late
• NBA DFS picks December 25: Merry Bucking Christmas
• Fantasy Baseball: Hot pitchers worthy of starting this weekend

The rehab for Ramos went smoothly, putting his return date right in the expected May or June time frame. The slugger made his debut in late-June and even after a slow start, he has impressed.

His seasonal line is rather pointless to look since he has only played in nine games and amassed 38 at-bats. He holds a .242/3 HR/10 RBI/.873 OPS nonetheless, but has come alive more at the plate over the last two weeks. Over that two-week span, he holds a much more satisfying .292/3 HR/9 RBI/1.096 OPS line. He has eight hits on the season, with five of those already going for extra bases.

Over the course of his career, Ramos’ issues were more a matter of injury than skill. His boasts a career average Med contact of 51% and a career 41% Hard contact rate. The only thing in his batted ball data that was holding back the power was his 54% career GB rate.

He did post a 54% GB rate last season but was able to offset that with career-best 20% LD and 25% FB rates. Neither rates jump off the page, but for a catcher and his ability to make solid contact with ease, those slight tweaks paid huge dividends.

There is no reason to believe that even with the injury that Ramos will suddenly forget how to hit. He is already showing his XBH ability and displaying his raw power. His three homers this season have all been no doubters, averaging at least 417 ft.

This is not his first knee injury, as they are problematic for catchers for a reason. But, the Rays have limited him so far in terms of playing time, but he has played in back to back games so the reigns should be coming off soon. Corey Dickerson has been tremendous out of the DH spot this season, but logical thinking would assume Ramos may get some starts there as well.

Next: Cubs deal for Jose Quintana: Fantasy fallout?

In terms of his fantasy value, Ramos emerges as a top waiver wire target. The fantasy C position lacks nearly any depth, ascending Ramos to the top rather quickly. He will bat in the middle of a solid lineup, is coming off a career year, and has the track record of making consistent and hard contact to provide production.

All arrows point up. Make the move.