Don’t sleep on Ramon Laureano

The San Diego Padres acquired outfielder Ramon Laureano in the July trade deadline spree that saw them part with six prospects to the Baltimore Orioles. Outfielder/first baseman Ryan O’Hearn was the headliner in that deal but he is now gone via free agency.

Laureano had a team option of $6.5 million for 2026 that the team quickly picked up in November of last year. After starting 2025 with one of the worst left field rankings in baseball (FanGraphs had them at 27 out of 30 teams), the acquisition of Laureano made the biggest upgrade of all the deadline swaps.

After arriving from Baltimore, Laureano played 50 games for the Padres. He hit .269/.323/.489 with an OPS of .812. His combined numbers for 2025 came out to .281/.342/.512 with a .855 OPS. Laureano had 24 home runs and 76 RBI for the season. His only better numbers came in 2019, his second season with Oakland.

The 2025 season saw his best hard-hit rate, his best barrel rate and his best K rate of his career. He also had his lowest chase rate during 2026. He finished the season with an fWAR of 3.0, which would have left him tied for seventh in fWAR rankings for left fielders for the year.

FanGraphs recently published their projections for 2026 and believe that Laureano will take a big step back. They project him to play in 119 games with a .242/.314/.428 line and .743 OPS. His projected WAR is 1.8. If correct, that would make 2026 his third worst season since his debut in 2019.

A career change

After finishing 2023 with a .224 average and .675 OPS, Laureano made a decision to remake himself. He reworked his approach in the batting box with the intent of making better contact and seeing breaking balls better.

Standing deeper in the box, moving away from the plate, closing up his stance and choking up on the bat were all incorporated into his new approach. The results started to show in 2024 with improved outcomes but 2025 was when the new adjustments really made a difference.

Laureano now ranks in the 80th percentiles for expected batting average, barrel percentage, hard-hit percentage and in the 93rd percentile in expected slugging (see Baseball Savant stats).

Expect a decline?

The decrease in projected value from FanGraphs could be due to Laureano’s age. He is 31 years old and will be 32 in July. Although still able to be productive at the plate, statistics project declines year over year from the year 31 season on.

As the Padres already have several aging players committed to long-term deals, don’t expect them to sign Laureano to an extension, so it is safe to assume this will be a walk year for him. Based on the improvements he has made and his mentality and make up, Padres fans should not be surprised to see a career year from their left fielder.

His 2025 season ended early with a broken finger suffered while swinging the bat. That should be completely healed going into this spring. With a normal offseason and a healthy spring, expect Laureano to easily outperform the projections.

Here is the writeup from FanGraphs for their fantasy projections for 2026.

Ramón Laureano (217 ADP)

In 2025, Laureano set a career high with 488 PA. From 2018 to 2024, Laureano’s paced 17 HR and 13 SB per 488 PA. That’s about what Friedl posted last season (15/13). If given enough playing time, he could be a solid fantasy value just by being himself.

Besides having a solid base coming into 2025, Laureano made two improvements. His contact% jumped from 70.8% to 74.8%, which is his highest since 2021. With more contact, his strikeout rate dropped from 31% to 24 percent, pushing his batting average up to .281.

The other improvement was a career high 90.3 average exit velocity and 112.7 max EV. With the extra power, he tied his career high with 24 HR.

As for the stolen bases, his sprint speed has varied from just 27.6 to 27.9 over the past six seasons. Around 8 SB to 10 SB is a reasonable estimate.

One final note: several of our playing time estimates seem a little on the low side (450 PA to 500 PA). If he were to go into the 600 PA or more range, he’s a steal at his current ADP.

Final Take: If Ramón Laureano can keep the contact and power gains he made in 2025 while playing a full season, he becomes a solid sleeper.

The best in baseball

Si.com recently published an article suggesting the Padres have the best trio of outfielders in baseball. Not surprisingly, they expect Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill to carry the bulk of the offensive load. Although Laureano’s offense could regress slightly, they don’t expect the big regression FanGraphs does.

The biggest negative for Laureano has been his defense. Although he has a plus arm in the outfield, his speed and range have been below average. It is not likely he will get faster but his defense could improve with better technique and it should be watched closely as the new season gets underway.

Another aspect of Laureano’s game is his attitude and intensity. Having an edge and a serious approach on the field is a steadying influence with the young outfielders he works with. Laureano stood out for Padres fans soon after his arrival in San Diego. After a walk-off hit in the Aug. 9 game against the Boston Red Sox, Laureano showed his honesty and endeared himself to most fans.

He could be one of the biggest surprises of 2026.

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