Across the last two weeks, there is one player with five stolen bases (Jon Berti) and six others with four. That second group includes expected names like Michael Harris, Ronald Acuna, and Bobby Witt however, it also includes Ryan McMahon and Patrick Wisdom. Yet, to me, the most shocking name on this list is Jonathan Schoop. Schoop has struggled mightily in 2022, with a wRC+ of 60 which is easily the worst mark of his career. However, he is still getting fairly regular playing time and decided to parlay that into aggressiveness on the bases. Coming into 2022 Schoop had never stolen more than two bases in a season. He has five total on the year and seems to be attempting to help however he can. I do not foresee this newfound speed to last but if he continues running like this it could help to raise his profile and make up for his overall struggles.
- Esteury Ruiz – Ruiz was called up and started in CF for the Padres on Tuesday. His minor league numbers are absolutely insane and he could be a game-changer in the steals department. He likely won’t be an offensive force otherwise but those who need steals need to be aggressive in adding him.
- Luis Rengifo – Rengifo’s numbers won’t really wow you and his two steals recently are two of his three for the season but he is a part of the Angels offense on a fairly regular basis and has been hot of late. He could give you 5-10 and 5-10 SBs rest of season.
- Josh Rojas – Rojas is not likely to be available in most leagues but he is very quietly having a great season. His seven SBs are easily on pace to eclipse his 2021 numbers and he could find his way to a 15/15 season when it all comes to an end. He is eligible almost everywhere and if he is still on the wire in shallow leagues he needs to be added.
| Name | Team | SB | CS | CS% | Inn | SB/Inn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Stallings | MIA | 39 | 7 | 15.2% | 516.2 | 0.08 |
| Jonah Heim | TEX | 38 | 8 | 17.4% | 479.1 | 0.08 |
| Tucker Barnhart | DET | 34 | 11 | 24.4% | 456 | 0.07 |
| Austin Hedges | CLE | 34 | 9 | 20.9% | 428.2 | 0.08 |
| Keibert Ruiz | WSN | 33 | 12 | 26.7% | 546.1 | 0.06 |
| Austin Nola | SDP | 32 | 7 | 17.9% | 443.2 | 0.07 |
| Cal Raleigh | SEA | 31 | 6 | 16.2% | 457 | 0.07 |
| Christian Vazquez | BOS | 30 | 16 | 34.8% | 551.1 | 0.05 |
| Ryan Jeffers | MIN | 29 | 8 | 21.6% | 442.1 | 0.07 |
| Travis d’Arnaud | ATL | 28 | 4 | 12.5% | 515.1 | 0.05 |
| Elias Diaz | COL | 28 | 8 | 22.2% | 477 | 0.06 |
| Max Stassi | LAA | 27 | 5 | 15.6% | 447.1 | 0.06 |
| Tomas Nido | NYM | 27 | 4 | 12.9% | 426.1 | 0.06 |
| Will Smith | LAD | 27 | 10 | 27.0% | 505.2 | 0.05 |
| Omar Narvaez | MIL | 25 | 5 | 16.7% | 425.2 | 0.06 |
| Reese McGuire | CHW | 25 | 10 | 28.6% | 370 | 0.07 |
| Alejandro Kirk | TOR | 22 | 4 | 15.4% | 388 | 0.06 |
| Sean Murphy | OAK | 21 | 0.0% | 568.1 | 0.04 | |
| Martin Maldonado | HOU | 20 | 0.0% | 540.2 | 0.04 | |
| Willson Contreras | CHC | 20 | 0.0% | 386 | 0.05 |
With the All-Star Break next week looking ahead to matchups likely has a bit less value to us. However, it is a good time to evaluate the catchers we have most heavily been attacking when trying to stream SBs.
- Jacob Stallings has been a popular target of ours as teams seem to be running at will against him. However, the Marlins are likely not a playoff contender and Stallings has not been hitting very well. Nick Fortes could take some more time from him making the Marlins less attractive as a stack.
- Jonah Heim has become one of the best offensive catchers in the league but his ability to throw out runners lags behind. Mitch Garver will miss the rest of the season with an elbow injury so it’s Heim’s position, giving us a guy to target the rest of the season.
- Cal Raleigh has shown a ton of power from the catcher position making him a good fantasy target in two catcher leagues. However, defense does not appear to be his strong suit and he has struggled to throw out runners. He seems likely to keep playing so he may be a catcher we heavily attack in the second half.
