LOGIN

Emilio Bonifacio was activated from the disabled list last week. Entering Sunday’s slate he’d recorded a hit in each of his games since his return and threw in a steal for good measure. Part of Bonifacio’s charm is his position flexibility. He’s eligible at both second base and outfield in ESPN leagues. He’s a nice option for steals with 14 stolen bases in 282 plate appearances. With Arismendy Alcantara able to play the outfield and Bonifacio really able to play anywhere, he should see regular playing time. At this point, Bonifacio is owned in less than 20% of leagues, but his ownership jumped 5% in the last week. Now’s a good time to add him if some of the other SAGNOF options in your league have been taken. In 10-teamers he’s a stretch, but for 12-team leagues and deeper I’d look to add Bonifacio and use him as a solid bench bat similar to what Danny Santana brings to the table. For this week, Bonifacio has a full schedule of seven games against the Rockies and Dodgers. The Rockies have allowed 59 stolen bases this season (17th in MLB) but as a commentator pointed out last week they have caught a league-worst 15% of base stealers. The Dodgers have allowed 60 stolen bases on the season (16th in MLB). Here are some other steals options for this week in 2014 fantasy baseball…

Anthony Gose, OF – @BOS, @HOU

The Blue Jays have shuffled their lineup around due to injuries, giving Anthony Gose some more opportunities. Nolan Reimold is returning so it is worth monitoring how that has an effect on Gose’s playing time. He had a mini steals outburst last week with four stolen bases in two games against the Red Sox. While the 25-year-old outfielder has nine steals on the season, he’s also been caught four times. This week the Blue Jays draw the Red Sox and Astros again. Not only did Gose’s big games come against the Sox last week, but the Astros have allowed 69 stolen bases this season (7th most in MLB). Scott Feldman is scheduled to take the mound against the Jays on Sunday. He’s allowed the second most steals in baseball (21).

Danny Santana, SS/OF and Sam Fuld, OF – @KC, @CWS

The trade of Kendrys Morales opens up the outfield for Santana and Fuld to get regular starts. Both have speed. Fuld is hitting only .254 on the season, but he has a .340 OBP with 12 stolen bases in just 215 plate appearances. Santana has appeared in this column before. He has hit well since returning from the DL but hasn’t stolen a base yet (he did atttempt one though). Given that his injury was his knee, it’s good to see the attempt but it could be a while for him to get up to full speed and get the timing back. Still the 23-year-old outfielder is a nice pickup and makes a great bench bat with both shortstop and outfield eligibility. Fuld and Santana seem to be splitting the leadoff duties for the Twins at the moment, but from this point forward I’d expect Santana to receive the lion’s share of time leading off. The Royals have allowed only 38 steals this season which makes them a tough draw to run against. The White Sox are more in the middle of the pack with 56 steals allowed (17th most in baseball).