Riley Adams DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez wants to ease catcher Keibert Ruiz in now that he's returned from a bad case of influenza that caused him to lose 18-20 pounds. It will also give the skipper the opportunity to keep catcher Riley Adams' bat in the lineup on a regular basis after he posted a .793 OPS when he caught 11 of the last 13 games with Ruiz out. "We're definitely going to use him," Martinez said. "One, let him catch. And two, we can also DH Keibert like we've done in the past and let him continue to catch. He's done a great job. He's learned a lot over the years. He's really coming into his own. It's good to have him, to watch him play and to watch him get better every day he's out there." As long as the 27-year-old continues to play several times a week, he'll be valuable in two-catcher fantasy leagues.

Washington Nationals catcher Riley Adams (wrist), who broke the hamate bone in his left wrist in September of last year and needed surgery, has fully healed and said he doesn't have any lingering issues entering spring training. Before getting hurt, Adams was in the midst of a breakout in D.C., slashing .273/.331/.476 with four home runs, 21 RBI and eight runs scored in 44 games in his second full season with the team. Still, he won't have much fantasy appeal at all as long as starting catcher Keibert Ruiz remains healthy in 2024. The 27-year-old backup backstop should see most of his sparse playing time against left-handed pitching, with whom he produced a .960 OPS with three of his four long balls against in 2023.