After a couple weeks off here in draft season, one due to my travel and one due to the internet gods not being friendly here at Razzball, we are back to look at some more stolen base targets.
As we grind toward the finish line for draft season, I admit this is the part of the year I both adore and hate most. The excitement of getting down and dirty in the draft room balanced by the 13th round snipe of a player you were targeting. Or for me right now, as I slow draft in a few industry events, the torrid rush of building a great team with all the time in the world to study, balanced by having all the time in the world to study as the same guy times out his 4-hour clock for the second time in 24 hours.
I understand the position that it is a “Slow” draft, and people have other things going on in their lives. My position is that if you are in an online draft, you have the technology to set notifications so you know when you are up. A queue and the ability to set an auto-pick for one round should also be in your repertoire. I get life happens, but it seems to happen to the same people over and over again. I firmly believe 2 hours is a perfect limit. The moral of the story is, don’t be a sloth in the slow-draft room. Thanks for allowing me to vent, and now back to our regularly scheduled program
Speaking of not being a sloth, this week we will look at the Anti-Sloths who have made a home in a new tree this off-season. These are players that are either going into a new clubhouse with a manager that likes to run more or into a situation that is more advantageous from a playing time or roster perspective. Many of these folks are being drafted well below where their potential steals ceiling is.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The RCLs are hardly slow drafts, and we are down to three Razzball Commenter Leagues with openings. Like THIS ONE drafting Saturday (3/21) at 9 PM ET or THIS ONE drafting Sunday (3/22) at noon ET, both featuring RCL co-conspirator, VinWins! Don’t miss out!
Luis Rengifo – IF – Milwaukee Brewers
In 2024, in 300 plate appearances, Rengifo stole 24 bases. Last year, only 10 in 540 appearances. Ron Washington and the Angels didn’t run at all in 2025. Luis isn’t super fast, but he does get a good jump. He lands in a complicated infield situation in Milwaukee, where he would appear to have the inside track on the starting third base job to open the season. To start the year, he should play at third almost every day, but with a couple shortstop prospects waiting in the wings in Cooper Pratt and Jett Williams, there could be some dynamic movement in the Milwaukee infield before we get too far into summer if Rengifo and Joey Ortiz aren’t hitting. Bottom line is the Brewers love to be active on the basepaths, and Pat Murphy will send him more than Washington did in LA.
Caleb Durbin – IF – Boston Red Sox
Although he’s technically going to a team that runs less, the Red Sox were still in the top 10 for stolen base attempts per game, and I think he’s got a role all to himself in 2026. Two years removed from stealing thirty bases in the minors, I think Durbin is in a perfect situation to possibly repeat that in 2026 with Boston. His strikeout rate is already under 10%, and his walk rate was half of what it was in the minors in his first extended season in the bigs in 2025. So let’s say he gets his walk rate to where he was in the minors, as most players improve in that area with more time in the big leagues. That’s another 30 times on base for Durbin. It’s a small spring sample size, but his walk rate is already there this spring, and he’s stolen three bases in 37 plate appearances (Does quick math multiplies all that by ten), so for sure it’s Durbin for 30 stolen bases in 2026.
Jake McCarthy – OF – Colorado Rockies
Fun fact, I bet you didn’t know coming up next. Jake McCarthy stole 6 bases in 2025. Oh, wait, you knew that. Well, did you know that he had a slow start to 2025 because of a hit by pitch on his hand that bugged him all year, and his major league struggles because of it led to a AAA demotion, where he still sucked but ran a little more? OK, you knew that too. Fine, I’ll finally drop some knowledge you and most of fantasy baseball have missed this offseason. His BABIP last year was only .233, probably due to his hand. His K Rate for his career is under 20%. He was the ninth fastest player in baseball last season, and he is going to lead off for the Rockies and, at worst, play on the strong side of a platoon in left field. His current ADP is 441, so this is probably at minimum twenty steals just waiting for you to grab it in deep leagues or SAGNOF all the time in daily leagues. Bold Prediction: McCarthy steals 40 bases in 2026.
That’s all for this week. We’ll see you next week for one more quick look at pre-season stolen bases. Any other questions? Hit me up on X @TheGreatKnoche.
