With less than two weeks left in the season, I'll try to help those fighting for every spot in the stolen base standings. I'll focus on two groups of available rabbits. One group are the guys who play everyday and hopefully provide stats in other categories besides steals. The smaller group is the pinch-running specialists, who won't accrue games started or plate appearances but could get a fantasy team a free stolen base.
The tables below show the stolen base attempts since the start of August, along with the player's stolen base attempt rate. I only examined hitters rostered in fewer than 99 percent of NFBC Online Championship leagues.
Pinch Runners
| Name | Team | G | PA | SB | CS | SBA | SBA PA | NFBC Roster% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Tolbert | KCR | 24 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 40% | 1% |
| David Hamilton | BOS | 19 | 43 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14% | 1% |
| Luisangel Acuna | NYM | 9 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17% | 6% |
The 27-year-old outfielder is the obvious target since he's almost exclusively used as a pinch runner, with more games played than plate appearances. Over the entire season, he has 15 steals in the 18 times he was used as a pinch runner, along with eight Runs.
Hamilton assumes the hybrid role between starting and pinch-running. He is used as an infield bench piece rather than a regular, with a career .636 OPS. He does run plenty, with 55 steals in 537 plate appearances over his career.
Acuna is the
With less than two weeks left in the season, I'll try to help those fighting for every spot in the stolen base standings. I'll focus on two groups of available rabbits. One group are the guys who play everyday and hopefully provide stats in other categories besides steals. The smaller group is the pinch-running specialists, who won't accrue games started or plate appearances but could get a fantasy team a free stolen base.
The tables below show the stolen base attempts since the start of August, along with the player's stolen base attempt rate. I only examined hitters rostered in fewer than 99 percent of NFBC Online Championship leagues.
Pinch Runners
| Name | Team | G | PA | SB | CS | SBA | SBA PA | NFBC Roster% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Tolbert | KCR | 24 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 40% | 1% |
| David Hamilton | BOS | 19 | 43 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14% | 1% |
| Luisangel Acuna | NYM | 9 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17% | 6% |
The 27-year-old outfielder is the obvious target since he's almost exclusively used as a pinch runner, with more games played than plate appearances. Over the entire season, he has 15 steals in the 18 times he was used as a pinch runner, along with eight Runs.
Hamilton assumes the hybrid role between starting and pinch-running. He is used as an infield bench piece rather than a regular, with a career .636 OPS. He does run plenty, with 55 steals in 537 plate appearances over his career.
Acuna is the third-best option, with a drop-off in playing time from the first two. I'm not surprised by the lack of options with teams rostering so many arms. Acuna is a dart to throw if the first two aren't available.
Available Running Regulars
| Name | Team | G | PA | SB | CS | SBA | SBA PA | NFBC Roster% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Caballero | NYY | 32 | 74 | 12 | 2 | 14 | 19% | 98% |
| Jake Mangum | TBR | 34 | 119 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 10% | 71% |
| Austin Martin | MIN | 40 | 137 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 8% | 8% |
| Tyler Freeman | COL | 41 | 172 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 5% | 94% |
| Bryce Teodosio | LAA | 39 | 120 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 7% | 3% |
| Caleb Durbin | MIL | 40 | 150 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 5% | 96% |
| Isaac Collins | MIL | 36 | 140 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 5% | 86% |
| Cedric Mullins | NYM | 34 | 120 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6% | 81% |
| Luis Rengifo | LAA | 36 | 128 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 5% | 73% |
| Jared Triolo | PIT | 41 | 166 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 4% | 62% |
| Ezequiel Duran | TEX | 34 | 89 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 8% | 2% |
The major-league stolen base leader is an insta add, especially since he's now the Yankees' starting shortstop. The 28-year-old provides no other category juice (five homers, .235 AVG), but if the need is stolen bases, no one is better.
I'm a little surprised Mangum held onto his starting job, or at least as much of a "starting job" as it gets on the Rays, as he has seven starts in the last 10 games. Like most of the guys featured, he doesn't provide much power (two homers), but he does come with a .295 AVG.
Martin comes in with eight straight starts while batting first or second in the lineup. He provides no power (one homer, six RBI in 137 PA), but he does get on base (.293 AVG, .393 OBP).
Leads off for the Rockies and while he does steal bases, he's dropped off in September with just one attempt. Ignore and go with other options.
Teodosio plays every game in center field while batting ninth, but that's where his talents end. He has a .579 OPS this season with zero home runs. Empty steals.
Caleb Durbin and Isaac Collins
The rostership rates on these two Brewers point to more talent than just stealing bases. Collins sits a little more often than Durbin, but their overall numbers are the same:
| Player | SB | HR | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collins | 16 | 9 | .270 |
| Durbin | 15 | 11 | .262 |
While the steals are lower than for many others covered in this article, these two provide balanced production.
The 28-year-old had been playing every game before Christian Moore stepped in and started the last few games at second base. It's too bad, because Rengifo had started running again. Also, he has the potential to hit a home run, unlike most players featured. He isn't useful on the bench, however. Ignore.
Triolo starts and bats leadoff for the lowly Pirates. He's been on fire in the second half (.294/.388/.448, three homers, six steals in 166 PA). Not the greatest numbers, but he joins the Brewers' pair as one of the more balanced options. Additionally, he's qualified at each infield position, so he can fill in for anyone.
His addition surprised me the most. With just 187 PA, his nine stolen bases are nice, but he's just not playing enough (four starts in the last 10 games, sat for six straight). He has to play to steal bases. Ignore.
