AL Outfielders for $1: Cheap Speed

One of the growing trends we see in fantasy baseball these days is the significant increase in the number of players contributing in the stolen base category.  With that, the price for speed, overall, is decreasing.  However, people still seem to go out and spend extra auction dollars on Juan Pierre or reach too high in their snake drafts for Brett Gardner.  You don’t have to be that guy (or girl).  Here are a couple of much cheaper options who will help keep you right in the thick of things in the speed department…

A Tribe Called Quick:  Michael Brantley

While widespread news of Grady Sizemore starting the season on the DL pushes Brantley into the spotlight a little bit more, most people will still sleep on him in drafts based on his overall numbers last year.  A .246/.296/.327 slash line with only 10 stolen bases and an atrocious .284 wOBA isn’t going to get anyone jazzed up enough to put him on their wish list.  However, break down his 2010 and weed out the weak playing time and poor start to the season and you’ll see a much better product.  After an early season demotion, Brantley lit up Triple-A and really pushed the club into bringing him back up.  It took him a little time to get his feet wet again and make the necessary adjustments to Major League pitching in July, but he finished up the year strong, hitting .292 with 26 runs scored and 8 stolen bases over the final two months, totaling 23 swipes on the year between Triple-A and the bigs.

A relatively slow spring should also keep him off most people’s radar as well.  He just sat out the last few games with, what the club called, ‘general leg soreness’ but was back in the lineup yesterday and will be getting regular starts throughout the rest of Spring Training.  If all goes right, he should steadily improve over the next three weeks without being too flashy and end up being a fantastic late round steal for you swiping 30+ bags this season.

Swiped By an Angel:  Peter Bourjos

Having read colleague Mike Axisa’s post on Bourjos in mid-January and subsequently the comments from several of you, I am not only encouraged by the youngster’s potential, but also in the ability to steal him late in drafts this season.  A ridiculously low walk rate, horribly low OBP projections, and likely to bat ninth for the Halos this season?  How is this guy on anyone’s radar?  Sure, he looked over-matched at the plate last year and put up some horrific numbers, but sometimes you just have to go with your gut, and my gut says to believe in his minor league totals and count on the fact that his defensive skills will keep him in the lineup on a regular basis.  You might have to withstand a low batting average (or OBP, if that’s your thing) but this kid has solid power potential and lightning quick speed.  He’s having a fairly decent spring thus far and the fact that he’s penciled in as the starting center fielder is certainly helping his confidence grow each day.  If he stays on track from where he is now, he should see 450-500 at bats this season and get the opportunity to swipe 30-40 bases this year.  That’s not bad for a buck now, is it?