Hanley Ramirez had shoulder issues that wrecked his 2015 season. What will he do in 2016?
Bounceback candidates come in all forms, but in one way or another each of these players had their season affected by injury last season. Here is what you can expect from them in 2016 if they can remain healthy.
Hanley Ramirez – Red Sox
The Hanley Ramirez experiment certainly didn’t go the way either Red Sox fans or those with Hanley Ramirez on their fantasy teams wanted it to go. The first half of his season didn’t look like it would be a wasted year as he hit 19 home runs and hit .274. The second half of the season is where things turned bad as he hit .183 without a single home run. It has been speculated that a shoulder injury was the main reason for this slump and his batted ball profile supports this theory. His strikeout rate remained at his career norm, yet his BABIP fell nearly eight-tenths of a point from his career rate. This occurred even though he posted the highest GB/FB rate in his career, which is attention grabbing because generally more ground balls are hits than fly balls. What did change, however, is that Ramirez posted a career worst soft contact rate, which could be explained at least in part to his shoulder injury. While Ramirez hasn’t exactly been the model of health throughout his career or even consistent in his performance while on the field, I am comfortable predicting that he will hit more than zero home runs in the second half of the 2016 season.
Carlos Gomez – Astros
He burned fantasy owners last season that selected him in the first-round. Gomez provided nothing close to that value and failed to deliver either 20 home runs or stolen bases and managed only a .255 average as he battled injuries all season. Though data is limited at this point, Gomez has an average draft position of 57.40 in National Fantasy Baseball Championships drafts, making him a pick that could potentially return a lot of value. Though he is now on the wrong side of 30, there is good potential for Gomez’s power to bounce back, at least in part, since his average flyball distance dropped only three feet from 2014 to 2015 while his HR/FB dropped 5.5 percent in that same time. Speed may begin to elude Gomez, but stealing 20-25 bases this season should be realistic. With that said a 17 HR and 25 SB season with a .260 average could be in line. As part of a very strong Astros’ lineup, Gomez has plenty of potential to produce runs and RBI. That isn’t first round material, but surely it is a valuable mixed league outfield option.
Corey Dickerson – Rockies
Dickerson’s season was the one most obviously affected by injuries of this group, as he managed just 234 plate appearances. The good news was that his HR/FB rate remained stable from his breakout 2014 campaign. Beware of his average, however as last season he popped up a lot of pitches and has consistently struck out at a high rate. That meant he was an automatic out for far too many of his plate appearances (his K%+IFFB% was 38.7% last year, opposed to 29.2% in 2014). Of course, having Coors Field as your home field is always advantageous for a hitter and Dickerson is no exception. He has a .388 BABIP at home for his career. With health, Dickerson should bounce back to provide good fantasy stats, just beware of his problem with strikeouts and infield fly balls.
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All stats for this article not otherwise linked were taken from the player profile pages at FanGraphs.com
Daniel Marcus is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Daniel, check out his archive or follow him @danmarcus3.
