Jace Peterson continues to see regular playing time with Chase Headley on the disabled list. Headley is expected to return around May 10th, so we should get another week of SAGNOF from Peterson. The 23-year-old has tallied two steals in 21 plate appearances for the Padres and he has seven home games on the schedule this week against the Royals and Marlins. The Royals have been stingy in allowing stolen bases, but the Marlins haven’t. The fish have given up the fourth most stolen bases in baseball entering Sunday’s games. Peterson had 39, 51, and 42 stolen bases over his last three minor league seasons. He is more of a deep league pickup, or a stop gap in your lineup given Headley’s imminent return, but the speed is real and he’s available (0% owned ESPN). A quick reminder to utilize the new SB Rates vs. SP tool here at Razzball. It’s a quick and easy way to find pitchers who are good targets to run against, and comes in handy for DFS and daily roto leagues. Here are some other steals picks for fantasy baseball this week…
Chris Getz – (@PHI, PHI, LAA)
Getz’s biggest fantasy contribution is going to be in stolen bases, and he’s got the everyday job at second base in Toronto. He has two steals in 15 plate appearances this year and over a full season and he could be a 20-25 steal guy. He’s scheduled to face A.J. Burnett this coming Wednesday and while Burnett has pitched really well to start the year, he is also one of the easiest arms to run against. He’s already allowed five steals on the season.
Jonathan Villar – (@DET, @BAL)
Villar’s ownership has dropped under 60% at ESPn, but his bat has started to heat up. Hopefully you didn’t go into panic mode and drop him, because he now has four multi-hit efforts in his last eight games, along with a pair of steals and a pair of homers. Villar still has that 30-40 stolen base potential, and the pop in his bat is a nice bonus from the shortstop position. To start the week he’ll get a four-game set against my favorite team to run against, the Tigers.
Craig Gentry – (SEA, WSH)
Frequent commentator, gentleman, and scholar, [Ed. Note– And a thesaurian contemplaturiat in his verbosity…] Ghost of the Disappeared threw Gentry’s name into the ring last week. His five steals in 51 plate appearances is nice for cheap steals in deeper leagues and he stole 24 bags last year with limited playing time. Like most SAGNOF players though, the playing time situation is a bit cloudy. On the positive side, he’s sporting a .380 OBP and hasn’t been caught stealing yet this season. He’ll get a nice match up against the Mariners early this week.
Cleveland Indians – (MIN, @TB)
There are a lot of intriguing options for stolen bases on the Indians right now thanks to the Jason Kipnis injury. The fastest guy on the roster now is Jose Ramirez, who stole 38 bags last year in the minors and had eight in Triple-A prior to his call up. Mike Aviles should see an increase in playing time as well and he’s got double-digit steals potential. In the outfield, Michael Bourn‘s hamstring is acting up on him again and his replacement Nyjer Morgan has wheels. Match-ups aren’t great against the Twins and Rays however.
Mike’s on Twitter @643ball
