One trend that occurs as the season progresses is that the Waiver Wire stolen base options begin to dry up. Many of the top options are quickly scooped up by owners in need and anyone who may be left is either a part-time or a complete drag elsewhere. So savvy owners in deeper leagues can look to the Minor League leaderboards to find potential call-ups. Here are a number of exciting players who lead AAA in steals.
Bubba Thompson (TEX 27 Steals) – Thompson is having a breakout age-24 season. His 27 steals leads the league and he has an average of over .300. The K-rate is a bit high and the average is largely BABIP driven. There may not be an open spot in the Texas OF, but keep an eye out for him as a guy who could be a late-season callup.
Samad Taylor (TOR 20 Steals) – Taylor has shown elite steal totals in the last several minors seasons and it is easily his carrying tool. He is a better hitter than Thompson but the issue for him is that Toronto is a much better lineup and there likely is not going to be an open spot.
Forrest Wall (SEA 18 Steals) – Wall is an older prospect (26) and has bounced around to a few different organizations. He’s never really been a massive prospect but speed has always been a part of his game. Seattle has some question marks in that lineup so there’s a chance he gets called up but he would likely be a speed-only play.
The rest of the leaders in AAA fall into a similar boat as Wall as older players although they have previously reached the majors. Monte Harrison could carve out a role if Mike Trout’s injury is serious and he has always been a power/speed threat to dream on. Andrew Stevenson is a speed-only player who has shown flashes at the MLB level but he would need a few injuries to find playing time. Lastly, Richie Martin was a Rule-5 player who struggled at the big league level. He likely does not find playing time without a few trades from the Orioles.
| Name | Team | SB | CS | CS% | Inn | SB/Inn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yasmani Grandal | CHW | 20 | 5 | 20.0% | 231 | 0.09 |
| Jonah Heim | TEX | 24 | 3 | 11.1% | 282.2 | 0.09 |
| Cal Raleigh | SEA | 19 | 6 | 24.0% | 232 | 0.08 |
| Austin Hedges | CLE | 24 | 5 | 17.2% | 305.2 | 0.08 |
| Jacob Stallings | MIA | 26 | 6 | 18.8% | 340.1 | 0.08 |
| Tyler Stephenson | CIN | 21 | 10 | 32.3% | 293 | 0.07 |
| Tucker Barnhart | DET | 21 | 8 | 27.6% | 316 | 0.07 |
| Joey Bart | SFG | 17 | 3 | 15.0% | 256.2 | 0.07 |
| Austin Nola | SDP | 19 | 3 | 13.6% | 288 | 0.07 |
| Ryan Jeffers | MIN | 18 | 1 | 5.3% | 284 | 0.06 |
| Omar Narvaez | MIL | 17 | 5 | 22.7% | 270.2 | 0.06 |
| Reese McGuire | CHW | 15 | 6 | 28.6% | 242 | 0.06 |
| Max Stassi | LAA | 15 | 4 | 21.1% | 263 | 0.06 |
| Travis d’Arnaud | ATL | 19 | 7 | 26.9% | 335.1 | 0.06 |
| Christian Vazquez | BOS | 19 | 7 | 26.9% | 337.2 | 0.06 |
| Will Smith | LAD | 18 | 3 | 14.3% | 323.2 | 0.06 |
| Mike Zunino | TBR | 16 | 4 | 20.0% | 290.1 | 0.06 |
| Keibert Ruiz | WSN | 19 | 10 | 34.5% | 350 | 0.05 |
| Alejandro Kirk | TOR | 13 | 6 | 31.6% | 244.2 | 0.05 |
| Tomas Nido | NYM | 13 | 1 | 7.1% | 254 | 0.05 |
Cal Raleigh has seemingly taken over as the Mariners’ starting catcher and teams have been running on the bat-first backstop. In the week ahead the Mariners play the Twins and the Angels. Both teams have a few speedsters who could get a boost. The Angels likely have more waiver options like Andrew Velasquez and Tyler Wade. Also, keep an eye out for whoever potentially replaces Mike Trout in the lineup as another potential stolen base threat.
A name a bit further down the list to target is Ryan Jeffers. He has only thrown out one would-be base stealer thus far in 2022. While he doesn’t start every day he will likely play a few games next week against the Mariners and the Diamondbacks. With the D-Backs, guys like Geraldo Perdomo could be available and sources of speed. From the Mariners’ side, most of their better options are likely owned but Adam Frazier may still be on some wires.
