The refrain this week will once again be the same for everyone chasing down roto league titles, make sure you are paying attention to your individual league’s standings and know where you can move. Once again we are going to take a look at the state of steals and look for some lesser names we can target as fantasy owners to get us over the hump and lock up that title.
- Tony Kemp (OAK) – Kemp was an early season target of mine but his season hasn’t gone quite as well as expected. He has ten steals on the season despite above-average speed and minors stolen base numbers. However, he has two steals in the last week and there’s little reason for Oakland to give him the red light. He can add a few more steals before the end of the season.
- Oswaldo Cabrera (NYY) – Cabrera has gained nearly full-time PT for the Yankees mostly due in part to his defense being a surprise in the OF but he is also hitting near the middle of the order. He has only stolen one base this season but he did have ten in AAA this season and could find a way to swipe a few more bases before the season’s end
- Harrison Bader (NYY) – Bader returned yesterday for the Yankees and had a fantastic New York debut. He is coming off a foot injury but his speed looked great last night and as a result and if it does he can be one of the league leaders in steals over the last few weeks
- Ha-Seong Kim (SDP) – Kim still seems to be under-owned in fantasy leagues despite decent overall numbers. He does not have an overwhelming amount of speed but he has ten steals across the season thus far and could be a guy who gets a few more chances to run with the Padres in contention still
| Name | Team | SB | CS | CS% | Inn | SB/Inn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Stallings | MIA | 57 | 13 | 18.6% | 849.2 | 0.07 |
| Austin Nola | SDP | 53 | 8 | 13.1% | 759.1 | 0.07 |
| Jonah Heim | TEX | 52 | 13 | 20.0% | 847.2 | 0.06 |
| Christian Vazquez | – – – | 51 | 19 | 27.1% | 821 | 0.06 |
| Keibert Ruiz | WSN | 51 | 20 | 28.2% | 865 | 0.06 |
| Cal Raleigh | SEA | 49 | 23 | 31.9% | 853 | 0.06 |
| Elias Diaz | COL | 47 | 14 | 23.0% | 755.1 | 0.06 |
| Tomas Nido | NYM | 47 | 12 | 20.3% | 706.1 | 0.07 |
| Tucker Barnhart | DET | 46 | 20 | 30.3% | 716 | 0.06 |
| Austin Hedges | CLE | 44 | 12 | 21.4% | 767.2 | 0.06 |
| Max Stassi | LAA | 43 | 12 | 21.8% | 786.2 | 0.05 |
| Carson Kelly | ARI | 42 | 12 | 22.2% | 683.1 | 0.06 |
| Will Smith | LAD | 42 | 9 | 17.6% | 883.1 | 0.05 |
| Travis d’Arnaud | ATL | 41 | 13 | 24.1% | 803.2 | 0.05 |
| Sean Murphy | OAK | 41 | 19 | 31.7% | 940 | 0.04 |
| Kevin Plawecki | BOS | 40 | 4 | 9.1% | 420.2 | 0.10 |
| Brian Serven | COL | 40 | 9 | 18.4% | 441 | 0.09 |
| Martin Maldonado | HOU | 38 | 13 | 25.5% | 880.2 | 0.04 |
| Joey Bart | SFG | 38 | 12 | 24.0% | 625.1 | 0.06 |
| Yasmani Grandal | CHW | 37 | 8 | 17.8% | 478 | 0.08 |
We usually mention the same names over and over again in this section but there are a few names at the bottom that are interesting for our purposes to finish the year. Two of the worst players in terms of SB per inning are Yasmani Grandal and Kevin Plawecki two players who previously were not regulars due to either injuries or deadline moves. Both players are allowing stolen bases at rates exceeding those of our “leaders”. This week ahead Grandal will face the Tigers, Twins, and Padres. For the most part, these teams do not have many freely available options that are SB threats but one to potentially add is Akil Badoo who has been a massive disappointment but does still have the chance to be a speed impact. For Boston and Plawecki, they face the Yankees, Orioles, and Blue Jays who similarly do not have too many freely available options but it does give the two Yankees mentioned above a bonus. The Blue Jays it may be worth keeping an eye on Raimel Tapia who could be available and has enough speed to help you move up the standings.
