Atlanta Braves center field shopping: Ramon Laureano
By Fred Owens
Ramon Laureano is perfect for the Atlanta Braves outfield; he plays at 27, is inexpensive, and under team control through 2024.
Who is Ramon Laureano?
The Astros selected Laureano in the 16th round of the 2014 draft. He struggled early on, and the Astros decided to trade him to Oakland following the 2017 season rather than protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
He started 2018 with Nashville and batted .297/.380/.524/.905 with 14 homers in 64 games. Oakland noticed and called him up on August 2nd, and on August 12th, he showed off the arm.
Over the final two months of the season, Laureano came to the plate 176 times in 48 games and batted .288/.358/.474/.832 with five homers.
A stress reaction in his right shin cost him six weeks in August and September limited him to 123 games in 2019, but he replicated those numbers the following season, batting .288/.340/.521/.860 with 24 homers in 481 PA, and stole 13 bases in 15 attempts.
Fangraphs said those numbers were worth 127 wRC+, a .356 wOBA, and 3.9 fWAR. His 2019 production closely resembles that of Atlanta Braves center fielder for most of that season, Ronald Acuna Jr., who batted .280/.365/.518/.883 with a .369 wOBA and 125 wRC+ line.
Great start, unfortunate interruption
Laureano started 2021 well; despite minor hand injures, he was batting .257/.332/.503/.354/.857 on May 27th when he suffered a right hip strain that put him on the disabled list until June 18th.
He returned without a rehab assignment, and his average suffered as a result; he batted only .235/.304/.359 over the next 40 games.
On August 6th, MLB suspended Laureano for 80 games because he tested positive for nandrolone. Starling Marte tested positive for the same substance in 2017, and as it turns out, there’s an extremely high probability that neither actually used it.