SAGNOF: Dual Category Droolers 2.0

Here we go now! It is officially the start of my big time drafting season as I am sure many of you readers are also about ready to get down and dirty in the draft room. Last Monday we kicked off an industry-wide league on NFBC called TGFBI or The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational. Tuesday night I had my auction. If you haven’t done an auction format before I highly recommend it as I believe personally this is the most fun you can have in a draft. I’m two RCLs deep now with only Perty Perts remaining. I might still jump in one more if Truss needs a last minute fill in and I’m available. Then Wednesday we kicked off the Razzball hosted Best Ball draft RazzSlam VI “Sixpack.” You’ll see plenty of insight from many writers on Razzslam. I’ve got more drafts after that, but this is the big week for me.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Speaking of RCLs, go sign up for some HERE.  We even have spots left in one of our most competitive money leagues, DFSers Anonymous, $25 to enter, draft date and time TBD once it fills.

My job with SAGNOF, before we get to games that count, is to help you find some “steals” in the draft to bolster that stolen base category while not limiting your upside across the rest of your batting stats. This week I am going to give you some of my top players I am targeting later on in the draft that can help a team continue to grow the stolen base category while kicking in some nice totals in other categories as well. These are the 2+ category guys going after 150th in a draft that I can’t keep my tongue in my mouth for. This will help you if you are behind the eight ball in runs and steals, or perhaps you need to target some RBIs and steals. Either way, I’ve got some guys to help you.

Last year this article had some nice hits with Jarren Duran, Jordan Westburg, and Zach Neto. Hopefully, we can get you some more league winners again this year.

I am going to give you my top folks to target with some specific secondary stat totals to pair up with at least double digit steals. My thresholds for the other batting categories are the following:

Runs – 70

Home Runs – 15

RBIs – 70

Batting Average – .270

OBP – .350

Runs and Steals

TJ Friedl, OF: Cincinnati Reds. 2024 Player Rater 403 – ADP 252

With Matt McLain playing most games at second according to Terry Francona, Friedl should have an almost everyday role open to him in CF. His OPS fell way off in 2024, but I attribute most of that to his injuries and I think a healthy bounce back could be in order According to my prediction he would actually count for three categories. My prediction .259/83/16/60/17.

Zack Gelof, 2B: Oakland Athletics. 2024 Player Rater 239 – ADP 219

The A’s aren’t going to lead the league in wins, but they certainly improved over the last two years and are moving to a ballpark that should be much more hitter friendly. As for Gelof he could possibly meet four of these five metrics (batting average isn’t gonna happen) and is going in the 15th round in a 15 team draft. Me likey. My prediction .225/71/19/73/20.

Home Runs and Steals

Tyler Fitzgerald, SS: San Francisco Giants. 2024 Player Rater 249 – ADP 239

It’s possible that his K-Rate causes an extended slump and makes him lose his job, but hey, here’s another potential 20/20 guy going in the 16th round. 20/20 is boring though am I right? Well it might be boring only stealing 3/4th of a base and hitting 3/4 of a home run a week, but it is still better than drafting Ivan Herrera in the 16th round to be your backup catcher. That’s right folks his ADP is higher than Fitzgerald’s. Gimme all the shares of the Mick. My prediction .222/60/20/63/20.

Thairo Estrada, 2B: Colorado Rockies. 2024 Player Rater 585 – ADP 336

Well, Thairo sucked last year and I had a lot of shares of him. If you look at 2022/2023 he averaged 14 homers and 22 stolen bases and didn’t even get past 120 games in 2023. In 2024 he didn’t run much, but the Giants really didn’t steal much at all finishing 29th in MLB. He still hit 9 homers in less than 400 ABs and that’s while dealing with wrist injuries that tend to make hitting more difficult. He’ll get a fresh start with the Rockies which always goes well right Kris Bryant? Anyhoo… anyone going to hit in Coors is worth a look and I think Thairo is in for a bounce-back campaign. My prediction .262/60/17/64/12.

RBIs and Steals

George Springer, OF: Toronto Blue Jays. 2024 Player Rater 198 – ADP 239

Horhay’s best days are certainly behind him, but for the purposes of this article let’s look at the good side of things. I expect him to be hitting 4th as he has done often this spring. That means he’s got Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Anthony Santander hitting out in front of him. Looks like a great spot to drive in some runs. He might even run a little more than last year without much in the way of run production hitting behind him. My prediction .242/66/22/77/15.

Jo Adell, OF: Los Angeles Angels. 2024 Player Rater 236 – ADP 290

Come on! Why wouldn’t you get back in on Adell? His K-Rate Improved by over ten percent in 2024. His walk percent went up again, and he’s only 25 years old. Post-Post-Post-Post hype, nah I’m not gonna say it. Here’s another fun fact that shows a breakout could be coming. His BABIP was only .244. His BA and OBP should be way higher this year which means more chances to run. 28.8 Ft/Sec sprint speed is also top 75 MLB. The Razzball writers are still in love with him so why wouldn’t you be? My prediction .236/63/21/77/20.

Batting Average and Steals

Jung Hoo Lee, OF: San Francisco Giants. 2024 Player Rater 1,210 – ADP 235

After signing Lee to a 6-Year $113 Million deal in December 2023 the Giants got very little return in year one. He is only 26 years young, and he hadn’t stolen many bases in the KBO prior to coming over.  He has a career .340 BA in the KBO with a .407 OBP. That should translate to at least .275 in MLB over a full season. I’m still in a wait-and-see mode on him personally, but if you need some average with some runs and a couple SBs he’s worth a look. My Prediction .284/70/9/60/11

Steven Kwan, OF: Cleveland Guardians. 2024 Player Rater 135- ADP 137

I broke my rule cause he’s going ahead of 150 in ADP, but he’s the ultimate fix to: I drafted Kyle Schwarber (Luis Arraez isn’t helping you in 5 categories). Gonna get me some bags, runs, RBIs, Homers, and most importantly balance my BA. My Prediction .289/90/12/63/19

OBP and Steals

Jonathan India, 2B: Kansas City Royals. 2024 Player Rater 149 – ADP 245

The man named after the sub-continent that created the Himalayas has a new home in Kansas City and he should find himself atop the mountain of the lineup. Hitting with Bobby Witt at your back is a fine place to be. As far as India goes he takes plenty of walks and should also see plenty to hit. If you got an OBP league getcha some India. My Prediction .257/80/15/63/13 OBP – .353

Xavier Edwards, SS: Miami Marlins.  2024 Player Rater 314 – ADP 150

His draft stock keeps rising and I think it is understandable. I think all the projections for him on stolen bases are low. He won’t keep up the same pace as 2024. He isn’t a top sprint speed guy, but he’s well above average at 28.4 Ft/Sec. What allowed him to steal a base every 10 plate appearances last year was he leads off, takes a walk, hits the ball on the ground and those balls on the ground aren’t featuring a lot of soft contact. This leads to a high BABIP and chances to steal bases. He works for either BA or OBP as does Kwan so grab those guys on either side. My Prediction .301/70/1/49/47 OBP – .385