For many fantasy players, the loss of Jon Berti has seriously hurt their chances of winning their titles. Berti was a one-man stolen base factory and although he has been gone for a few weeks many players are still feeling the pain of the loss. However, for fantasy managers, there may be another available Marlin who can replace some of the loss – Joey Wendle. Wendle is not nearly as fast or as aggressive on the bases as Berti but he has eight bags this year in just under 200 PAs. He also has a .300 AVG and has been hitting atop the Marlins order lately. There’s not much power but the bags, runs, and AVG should make him a plus fantasy player rest of the season.
Greg Allen (PIT) – Since returning from the 60-Day IL Allen has played in three of the Pirates’ games. He should get somewhere near full-time at-bats for the team and if he does, there’s a ton of speed here. He was a plus hitter in a small sample in 2021 but I do not expect much there. Assuming he plays almost every day, there’s double-digit stolen base potential.
Adam Engel (CWS) – I previously wrote up Engel in this article and he immediately found himself on the IL. He is back now and has been replacing Luis Robert in CF. The news on Robert has not been great thus far so Engel could get a decent amount of PT going forward. He has always intrigued me as a power/speed threat and with this newfound playing time, he could become a great pickup late in the season for those who are desperate for OF help.
Harrison Bader (STL) – Bader has missed the last few weeks with a foot injury but he was near the top of the SB leaderboards before his injury. If you are in need of bags make sure you check your wire to see if he’s available in your league.
| Name | Team | SB | CS | CS% | Inn | SB/Inn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Stallings | MIA | 42 | 8 | 16.0% | 582.2 | 0.07 |
| Jonah Heim | TEX | 40 | 5 | 11.1% | 550.1 | 0.07 |
| Christian Vazquez | BOS | 36 | 15 | 29.4% | 607.1 | 0.06 |
| Keibert Ruiz | WSN | 36 | 16 | 30.8% | 619.1 | 0.06 |
| Cal Raleigh | SEA | 35 | 11 | 23.9% | 540 | 0.06 |
| Tucker Barnhart | DET | 34 | 14 | 29.2% | 496 | 0.07 |
| Austin Hedges | CLE | 34 | 8 | 19.0% | 488.2 | 0.07 |
| Austin Nola | SDP | 34 | 5 | 12.8% | 486.2 | 0.07 |
| Travis d’Arnaud | ATL | 32 | 9 | 22.0% | 568.1 | 0.06 |
| Max Stassi | LAA | 32 | 8 | 20.0% | 509.1 | 0.06 |
| Tomas Nido | NYM | 31 | 9 | 22.5% | 482.1 | 0.06 |
| Will Smith | LAD | 31 | 7 | 18.4% | 577.2 | 0.05 |
| Francisco Mejia | TBR | 29 | 7 | 19.4% | 383.1 | 0.08 |
| Ryan Jeffers | MIN | 29 | 6 | 17.1% | 460.1 | 0.06 |
| Elias Diaz | COL | 28 | 9 | 24.3% | 533 | 0.05 |
| Omar Narvaez | MIL | 27 | 8 | 22.9% | 462.2 | 0.06 |
| Tyler Stephenson | CIN | 27 | 10 | 27.0% | 351.2 | 0.08 |
| Sean Murphy | OAK | 27 | 13 | 32.5% | 647.1 | 0.04 |
| J.T. Realmuto | PHI | 25 | 17 | 40.5% | 684.1 | 0.04 |
| Reese McGuire | CHW | 25 | 11 | 30.6% | 390 | 0.06 |
Jonah Heim – We have spent much of this year targeting Heim and the Rangers’ pitchers for our stolen base streamers and this week is no different. Next week he faces the Orioles and the White Sox. For the Orioles, this means a bump for Jorge Mateo and Cedric Mullins who you cannot find on your wire. Ramon Urias might be available and if he is he could get a bag but he’s also a great add strictly for his bat. The White Sox means that Adam Engel gets another boost in my eyes making him a fantastic addition.
Austin Hedges (CLE) – Hedges is one of the guys that we have not discussed much but he is allowing the same number of stolen bases per inning as Heim and has a sub 20% caught stealing percentage. The Diamondbacks and Astros are on tap for next week for the Guardians. The DBacks have a few guys who may be available like Geraldo Perdomo, and Josh Rojas in shallow leagues, and fringe platoon types like Jake McCarthy. For the Astros, most guys will be owned but Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers could ship in a few steals.
