As stolen bases continue to rise league wide, I’m here every Wednesday to help you track important stolen base trends so you can find more speed for your fantasy teams.
Stealing a base is as much about the opposing pitcher and catcher as it is the actual base runner themself. So, being able to spot which teams and pitchers specifically are being run on most frequently will help you to figure out who can swipe some bags over the next week.
Last week, I talked about Juan Soto’s newfound prowess as a base stealer and this week he became the first player in the league to cross the 30-30 threshold.
Before we get to this week’s important trends, here is the stolen base leaderboard over the past seven days.
At worst, Royce Lewis stealing bases is a good sign that he feels healthy.
After a slow month on the base paths, Luke Keaschall seems ready to turn on the jets for the final few weeks.
Now, here is the overall stolen base leaderboard on the season.
José Caballero is getting more chances to start as Anthony Volpe’s slide continues. If Caballero is in the lineup, he will be stealing bases.
Next, here are some players that we’d hoped would be more aggressive or efficient on the base paths in the second half.
It would be nice if Lawrence Butler could recoup some of his lost fantasy value by being more active on the basepaths.
Kyle Tucker was among the league leaders with 22 stolen bases in the first half before he stopped running after the break.
Now, let’s go over the most important stolen base trends over the past week.
Fantasy Baseball Stolen Base Targets
With just over two weeks left in the regular season and every stolen base holding that much more value, let’s look at which teams are facing the easiest pitchers and catchers to run against moving forward.
The Marlins are by far the best team to target when seeking stolen bases. They’re catching tandem of Agustín Ramírez and Liam Hicks can’t throw anyone out and Sandy Alcantara is one of the worst pitchers in the league at holding runners on.
Over the next week, they have games against the Tigers and Rockies.
Alcantara is scheduled to face the Tigers this Friday, but they don’t run much as a team. Only Jahmai Jones, Wenceel Pérez, and Zack McKinstry have attempted multiple stolen bases since the beginning of August.
For the Rockies, Jordan Beck, Tyler Freeman, and Brenton Doyle are by far their most aggressive base stealers. However, Freeman is a poor 5-for-9 over the past six weeks.
The Braves have also proved easy to run against and will likely be targeted more so coming up after Sean Murphy’s hip labrum tear ended his season. That will open the door for likely National League Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin to catch a greater share of games down the stretch.
While already proving to be one of the best hitting catchers in the league, Baldwin has been bad at throwing out runners. His 11% caught stealing rate is the worst for any backstop that’s started at least 70 games.
Atlanta has a four-game series against the Nationals next week who have attempted the fifth-most stolen bases among all teams this season. Lately, Daylen Lile, Luis García Jr., and Jacob Young have been their most aggressive base stealers with Dylan Crews, CJ Abrams, and Brady House active as well.
