This is not a drill. Eric Young Jr. should actually see steady starts in right field with Michael Cuddyer hitting the disabled list. After Helton went down we were teased by the occasional EY2 start. I may or may not have seen Grey with a Cuddyer voodoo doll in his hand and next thing I know, EY2 is the Rockies leadoff hitter and starting right fielder. He and a few others who are on page one of the steals’ leaderboards may still be available in your league. Juan Pierre, Michael Saunders, and Kelly Johnson all graduated from this list with over 50% ownership now. Hopefully they are able to contribute to their new fantasy owners instead of doing what I did when I graduated, which was sitting in my parents’ basement eating pizza rolls and hoping that today would be “PLINKO” day on The Price Is Right.
All players listed are available in at least 50% of leagues. Sunday’s stats are not included in the table.
Week 7:
| Player, Pos. | SB | CS | SBO | Opponents | G | vLHP | vRHP |
| Rajai Davis, OF | 8 | 1 | 32 | N/A (DL) | |||
| Will Venable, OF | 7 | 2 | 30 | @BAL, WSH | 6 | 1 | 5 |
| Ben Revere, OF | 7 | 3 | 40 | CLE, CIN | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Chris Young, OF | 5 | 0 | 21 | N/A (DL) | |||
| Justin Ruggiano, OF | 5 | 1 | 41 | CIN, ARI | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| Jordan Schafer, OF | 5 | 2 | 26 | @ARI, LAD | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Eric Young Jr, OF | 5 | 4 | 42 | @CHC, SF | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| Craig Gentry, OF | 5 | 1 | 29 | @OAK, DET | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Jarrod Dyson, OF | 5 | 1 | 7 | @LAA, @OAK | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| AJ Pollock, OF | 5 | 2 | 36 | ATL, @MIA | 6 | 1 | 5 |
Key: SB– Stolen Bases, CS-Caught Stealing, SBO-Stolen Base Opportunites (number of PA when the runner was on first or second with the next base open), G -#Games Scheduled through Sunday, including #vs lefties (LHP) and #vs righties (RHP)
Teams highlighted in green are in the Top 5 of MLB in most stolen bases allowed. Teams highlighted in red are in the Top 5 in least stolen bases allowed.
Playing time and opportunities are important when trying to squeak out extra steals, which is why I provided the number of games on the upcoming schedule for the week as well as the number of games versus left handers and right handers for those players who may be in a platoon situation.
Green Lights…
Eric Young Jr should get his starts and the Rockies have 7 games on the schedule for this week. Three of those games will come against the Cubs, who are one of the worst teams in MLB in controlling the running game. The Giants aren’t much better, as they are also in the top ten in stolen bases allowed. He stole a base in three straight games this past week, and there”s no reason to think he can’t do it again. The only blemish on EY2’s resume is that he has been caught 4 times in 9 attempts.
Alexi Casilla isn’t in the above table, but he does have 4 steals on the season and hasn’t been caught this year. He’ll match up against the Padres and the Rays this week, who have allowed more stolen bases than any other teams in the majors.
Despite the tough matchup with Baltimore, Will Venable should see a lot of playing time this week with 5 of the 6 games against right handed pitching. He’s starting to warm up at the plate, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him contribute a couple of steals this week.
It may be time to stash Adam Eaton if you haven’t already. AJ Pollock has filled in nicely, but he’ll most likely get sent down when Eaton returns, and it looks like Eaton will be starting a rehab assignment with AAA Reno soon. He had 38 steals in 119 games at the AAA level last year. His injury is elbow related, so there’s nothing to stop him from being able to run as soon as he’s back. Eaton is currently available in 90% of ESPN leagues.
Dee Gordon has 4 steals already and has gotten some looks at the top of the Dodgers lineup as well. While he doesn’t necessarily have great matchups this week against the Braves and the Nationals, every time he plays there’s a chance for a steal or two.
