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Wilson Ramos is a Better Fit for the Mets than J.T. Realmuto

By Josh Ejnes

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 15: Wilson Ramos #40 of the Philadelphia Phillies in action against the Miami Marlins during a game at Citizens Bank Park on September 15, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 15: Wilson Ramos #40 of the Philadelphia Phillies in action against the Miami Marlins during a game at Citizens Bank Park on September 15, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – AUGUST 28: J.T. Realmuto #11 of the Miami Marlins bats during a game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on August 28, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

Ramos vs. Realmuto on Offense

Realmuto wasn’t the apple of the Mets’ eye for his defense; they saw him as an elite offensive catcher who could strengthen a line up that failed to give their pitchers run support in 2018. Last year Realmuto slashed .277/.340/.484 with 21 home runs in 531 plate appearances, which were good for an all star nod and a Silver Slugger. By signing Ramos are the Mets conceding much in their quest for a strong hitting catcher?

Not exactly. Ramos’ slashline, mentioned earlier, was .306/.358/.487, which is actually a bit better than Realmuto, though Realmuto takes a slight lead in OPS+ with a 131 compared to Ramos’ 130. One place that we can start to differentiate the two is in platoon splits.

Generally right handed batters do better against left handed pitchers, but the opposite is true of Realmuto, a righty, who last season had an OPS of .875 against right handers and .651 facing southpaws. This is uncommon but not entirely unique; Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers has similar splits as a right handed batter, with an OPS of .921 against righties and .628 against lefties.

Ramos, on the other hand, had much more typical platoon splits for a right handed hitter, with a .818 OPS against righties and a .916 against lefties. Last year the Mets struggled against left handed pitching, so Ramos’ platoon tendencies better fit the team’s needs.

One area were Realmuto has the edge on Ramos is pop; his ground ball percentage for 2018 was only 39.8 percent compared to Ramos’ 54.9 percent, and as his power improves and his game matures he should be able to start converting those balls in the air to more home runs. Despite this disparity Ramos managed to have a better BABIP, likely due to the fact that his ground balls were less often pulled into the shift than Realmuto’s. He also has a slightly higher average exit velocity, 91.3 MPH versus 88.9 MPH, despite having a lower percentage of barrels.

All in all, the two catchers are pretty comparable on the offensive side of things, with the fact that Realmuto is younger and has more room to grow giving him a slight edge over Ramos as a long term choice. In the short term Ramos will see better returns, and both catchers’ contracts will be up in 2 years, so if the Mets are still smitten with Realmuto then the option will likely be there.

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