Ramirez vs. Reyes

One of the biggest debates in fantasy baseball this year is that of Hanley Ramirez vs. Jose Reyes. Here is how I serve up the comparison:


Hanley Ramirez, Marlins


Even with the absence of Miguel Cabrera, Fredi Gonzalez says that Ramirez will remain in the leadoff spot, so he will not be losing any ABs from last season. If he’s going to stay in the leadoff spot, his RBI chances most likely will not go up, but with the extra year of experience, expect him to be around the 95 range. However, look for his runs to drop to the 100 level without Cabrera backing him up. Ramirez should still be able to get his share of HRs, again being around the 30 range-I don’t see him getting that much over where he was last year. He dropped his SO numbers by more than 30 last year, and if he can get to them down another 15-20, in combination with another year of experience, you could see him put up about a .340-.345 average. With the extra times on base Ramirez will also get an increase in his SBs. Another thing that will result in greater SBs is the absence of a big time HR threat. Without that threat this year, Cabrera will get the green light more often. Expect his SBs to go up to about the 65 level, but don’t expect him to break 70. Ramirez is truly a 5 category stud.
Prediction: 156 games, 103 runs, 32 HRs, 93 RBIs, 62 SBs, .343 AVG



Jose Reyes, Mets



Reyes numbers dropped off the charts in the second half of ’07. He only batted .251 after the all star break, and .205 when his team was crumbling under the September pressure. However, he did have 5 of his 12 HRs in August in September. He’s obviously not as bad as he was in September, but don’t expect him to be as good as he was in April (.356 AVG). There haven’t really been any changed to the Mets lineup, other than that they’re a year older, which is not good for the veteran laden team. His K/AB went down last year, and his BB/AB went up. His SB also jumped by 14 in the extra 7 games he played in. His RBIs dropped significantly last year, which is a result of his putrid AVG with RISP, .259, and .195 with RISP and 2 outs. If he gets back to his ’06 numbers where he batted .336 with RISP and .414 with RISP with 2 outs, his RBIs will go up with them. Look more for him to be around the middle, and end up with about 70-75 RBIs.
Prediction:158 games, 122 runs, 15 HRs, 73 RBIs , 76 SBs, 292 AVG.


My pick: Ramirez
You can’t go wrong with either one of these two. You’ll get more runs and SB from Reyes, but everything else is in favor of Ramirez. If I had a draft pick and these were the two best available players, I would have to take Hanley Ramirez due to the huge difference in AVG and HR, and the slim threat that Reyes can’t get back to his numbers from the beginning of the year.

The Purple Iguana