SAGNOF Report: The Royal Scam

Maybe it’s the weather. Summer’s heat is starting to break, after all. A handful of teams have been running like gangbusters lately. The Royals are one such team. They’ve taken advantage of weak pitcher/catcher combos. That’s likely to continue as teams look to squeeze a few more wins from the 2018 season. Here are some teams that are in good position to continue that trend.

• Those running Royals are at it again. The top two base stealers the last week were Whit Merrifield and Adalberto Mondesi. You could take a stab at Alex Gordon for some steals.
• Rumors of Shohei Ohtani’s speed from his time in Japan were hard to believe. It’s been legit. The A’s and Astros also make for a plus schedule. It’s a good thing you don’t need a functional UCL to steal bases.
• The Rays have a pretty cushy week steals-wise, facing the Rangers and Blue Jays. Joey Wendle is probably the most actionable Ray. Wendle hasn’t been running much lately, but he had five steals in August.
• Trea Turner and the Nats have a four game series on tap with the Mets this week. Turner will certainly get his. Adam Eaton could also make for an interesting play if he happens to be on your league’s wire.
• Saves chase: with Trevor Hildenberger having a hard time holding onto leads this weekend Taylor Rogers figures to see some extra saves opportunities. Rogers is a lefty, so Trevor May is worth a speculative add in the event the Twins give up on Hildy.

Below is a table of the top ten catchers to run on…