It’s officially SAGNOF Wednesday here at Razzball as I welcome you back to some quick stolen base thoughts. Today we look at recently acquired and promoted Blue Jays outfielder Brett Bateman.
First thing that came to mind when I decided Bateman was going to be my lead this week was, wow, there are so many ways I can go with this title. I thought about Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na Bateman! Seemed a little cheesy though. Also, if you read that last sentence and know exactly what I am talking about, you are over 40 years of age, and we should be friends. Hope you enjoyed the more subtle reference I went with.
Anyhoo… what is there to tell about Brett Bateman? He was acquired at the deadline from the Cubs for Kevin Gausman and was almost immediately called up to make his debut on Friday. The kid has mad on base skills, which I will get more into in a second, but those skills had him slotted into the leadoff spot by Friday, and he should continue to bat near the top of the order.
Brett holds a 70 grade speed rating, which is elite, and uses that as part of his elite OBP skill set to the tune of a .389 BABIP in AAA. His contact spray chart in the minors actually has a higher opposite-field% than pull side. The biggest piece, however, is simply his batting eye. His lowest walk rate for a full season in the minor leagues is 14.6%. Taking a lot of pitches gets him behind in some counts also, but with the walk rate almost as high as the strikeout rate, it’s a worthwhile trade. Add all this up, and it translates to a .402 Career OBP across all levels. Only Yordan Alvarez is better than that this year in MLB.
On the basepaths in his career, he has 83 Minor league stolen bases and has been caught 18 times. There isn’t much power here, as he only has six home runs over around 1,400 plate appearances in the minors. This is a true SAGNOF play. Hitting atop the Blue Jays order with a scuffling Vlad and Springer hitting behind him, I wouldn’t see them stopping him from stealing every time he gets to first base. If I need some steals, he’s at worst a Speed Dial and at best a source for 10 stolen bases, a solid average, and some runs down the stretch.
There’s always money in the Banana Stand.
Here’s this week’s Stolen Bases Leaderboard
The Speed Dials
Exact SB predictions now 3 for 16 on the season. By far my lowest number in the three years I’ve been doing this article. Hoping to close with some winners
Wednesday, August 12th – Pirates vs Marlins
Jake Mangum – This dude is leading off every day for the Pirates and is up to 21 stolen bases in the year and still available in over 80% of leagues. Come on folks, his sprint speed is 29.3 Ft/Sec even at 30 years old. How is he still available in that many spots? He’ll face Janson Junk, who allows an 85.7% success rate against and .109 SB/IP. Joe Mack has been very good behind the plate, cutting down runners for the Marlins, so I am hoping that, being the third game of the series, Agustin Ramirez is back there.
Thursday, August 13th – Reds vs White Sox
Matt McLain – He’ll bounce back next year, but for now he’s a viable SAGNOF target with 13 steals on 15 attempts. His sprint speed is down a little to 28.6 Ft/sec, but that’s still well above average. Mclain and the Reds face Erick Fedde, who allows .126 SB/IP and an 89% success rate against. He’s allowed the 6th most stolen bases against him over the last 2+ seasons. Currently Edgar Quero and Drew Romo are catching in Chicago, and both are middle of the pack when cutting down runners.
As always, if you’re looking for anything further out for next week, where we don’t have exact pitching match-ups, hit me up here or on Twitter @TheGreatKnoche
Adam West was the best!
Nice – this is timely, as I’m a Jays fan and liked what I saw yesterday. I have actually just put in a claim for Estuary Ruiz for tonight, but do you think I should prioritize Bateman for SAGNOF instead?