MLB Network's José Ramírez breakdown shows how lost Guardians would be without him

Every national discussion around José Ramírez tends to start the same way. 

“He’s underrated.” “You never hear about him.” “He’d be such a bigger name if he was playing elsewhere.” 

And while all those are all true, Ramírez has been doing his part this year to bring some extra attention to himself thanks to an electric start to the season. 

So much so that Ramírez got his own segment on MLB Network earlier this week, where legendary MLB announcer Matt Vasgersian called Ramírez mind-blowingly good, mind-blowingly overlooked and mind-blowingly underrated."

MLB Network's José Ramírez breakdown shows how lost Guardians would be without him

Ramírez entered the weekend slashing .331/.391/.547 to go along with 12 home runs and 33 RBI. He has an OPS+ of 162 along with 15 doubles, 20 stolen bases, 24 walks and just 29 strikeouts. 

In a career filled with masterful seasons, this one is shaping up to be his best. And, as Vasgersian pointed out, it’s also saving the Guardians. 

The Guardians entered the weekend with a 35-32 record despite having a negative run differential. One of the biggest reasons for that negative run differential is their lack of success with runners on base (.246 average with runners in scoring position). Imagine what that would be like if they didn’t have Ramírez’s .375 average with runners in scoring position. 

Ramírez is also in the midst of a 37-game on-base streak where he’s hit .375 with seven home runs and 19 RBI to go along with 15 stolen bases. It’s the longest on-base streak for a Cleveland player since Víctor Martínez’s 44-game streak. 

The 6-foot-2 Martínez was built like the prototypical MLB slugger, whereas the 5-foot-8 Ramírez is about as unassuming a player as you can find. Yet they both authored incredible streaks that stand alone in Cleveland baseball history. That's the beauty of baseball.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Cleveland’s third baseman  wRC+ of 140, which is 36 points higher than the second place team (Toronto Blue Jays). Ramírez has been worth 3.2 bWAR this year, which is fifth in the American League, and he’d have a legit shot at winning MVP in a world where Aaron Judge didn’t exist. 

He's also in the 98th percentile in expected batting average and the 89th percentile in strikeout rate.

While Ramírez’s production has been a huge help for the Guardians, he can’t do it all. The Guardians have gotten next-to-no production from center field and right field, and are clearly a bat or two away from being a true contender in the American League. 

But none of that takes away from Ramírez’s stellar production this season. It just remains to be seen if that production will come in a lost season.