New York Mets: Three Wilson Ramos predictions for the 2020 season

What can we expect from New York Mets catcher Wilson Ramos in 2020?

The New York Mets begin the 2020 season with the most important thing a team can have: legitimate hope for the year.

The franchise boasts an excellent balance between dominant pitching and exciting offensive firepower. While stars like Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, and Michael Conforto get the lion’s share of the attention, there is one additional hitter that is expected to make a major impact on the offense: catcher Wilson Ramos.

Ramos is coming off a season where he produced some solid offensive numbers which only got better in the latter part of the summer when he seemed to be his best. What does the 2020 season have in store for The Buffalo? Let’s make some predictions.

Ramos Records a .290+ Average and 75+ RBI

This prediction captures the essence of what makes Ramos a valuable puzzle piece. After years of starting middling talent like Kevin Plawecki, Travis d’Arnaud, and John Buck, the team has finally found a legitimately dangerous hitter at the catcher position.

Ramos finished the 2019 campaign with an impressive 73 RBI, 14 home runs, and a .288 batting average. These numbers are fairly standard for the journeyman’s career. While “The Buffalo” is just outside the group of elite catchers (such as J.T. Realmuto, Yasmani Grandal, Gary Sanchez, or Willson Contreras), he is comfortably in the second tier.

While his defense has been an issue throughout his career, he has always been a capable and dangerous hitter. And there is no reason to assume that will stop with the turning of the decade. Ramos, who holds a career .275 average has actually shown signs of improvement in each of the past three seasons. Additionally, he has even hit above the hallowed .300 mark twice in his tenure in the major leagues (2016 and 2018).

The only thing that as a realistic chance of keeping Ramos from approaching and surpassing these marks would be issues with injuries. While the catcher has been very effective as a hitter, he does have a reputation with health issues. The worst of these setbacks, an ACL tear in 2016, was a major turning point in his career.

However, Ramos was able to play in a career-high 141 games in his first season with the Mets. Fans in Flushing will be pulling hard for a repeat performance in 2020. If he is able to stay on the field, Ramos should reach these statistical goals. He should even earn some consideration as an All-Star.