Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez is widely regarded as one of the best players in baseball. His offensive production, particularly over the past two seasons, has been at the top of the list, and he could make history with another outstanding campaign.
Ramirez will turn 34 years old in 2026, so a decline could be on the way someday, perhaps as soon as this season. However, based on his career to date, it should be impossible to predict a drop-off until it actually happens.
Yet, Ramirez has been disrespected in the latest MLB projections by FanGraphs, which does not have him on its list of 30 home run/20 stolen base seasons for 2026.
“NINE players finished with 30-HR/20-SB seasons in 2025. Here are the six projected to reach that mark this year! Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Kyle Tucker, Julio Rodriguez, Ronald Acuna Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr.,” MLB posted on X.
NINE players finished with 30-HR/20-SB seasons in 2025
Here are the six projected to reach that mark this year! pic.twitter.com/fEZ4i9V8QP
— MLB (@MLB) February 13, 2026
Regarding Ramirez, this seems completely out of line when you consider that over the past two years, he had 30 home runs and 44 stolen bases last season, and 39 homers and 41 steals in 2024. If he were to reach those numbers again, he would be the only player in history other than Barry Bonds to have three consecutive 30-30 seasons.
In fact, over the past five seasons, Ramirez has reached the 30-20 benchmark three times and missed another by one home run. He also had 39 homers and 34 steals in 2018.
FanGraphs Depth Charts has him falling just short this season with 29 home runs and 32 stolen bases. None of the other projection models it uses has Ramirez reaching 30 home runs, but none has him with fewer than 20 steals, either.
So, that leaves him off their list for this season. Among those who made it, it should be noted that on MLB Network’s list of the Top 100 players in 2026, Ramirez ranked ahead of everyone but Ohtani.
Ramirez is also rarely injured, having played at least 150 games in eight of the past nine full seasons. He also has the security of a recent contract extension that should keep him with the Guardians through the end of his career.
With so many things working in his favor, it isn’t wise to doubt that he can put up excellent numbers again this season.
NEXT: Stephen Vogt Outlines Guardians' Plan In Spring Training
