Bourgeois, Revere, Campana: Streaming Steals

by
September 20, 2011

With the season winding down the type of fantasy advice people look for changes. You’re not looking to trade for an under the radar player or pick a diamond in the rough from the waiver wire. If you’re team is still in contention it’s likely you’re looking for specific stats to stream in hopes of padding your lead or catching up to your opponent.

Today we’re focusing on steals and looking at three readily available players that can help you Usain Bolt the competition.

Jason Bourgeois (31 SB, 6% owned)

He has just 245 plate appearances this season but has already racked up 31 stolen bases. In a lost season for the Astros he’s been one of the lone bright spots. Finally fully healthy, Bourgeois is getting every day playing time taking over Michael Bourn’s former post in centerfield. He doesn’t walk very much (4.1%), but he also doesn’t strike out (9.8%). Over his last six games he has five steals. It’s clear that when he gets on base his first instinct is to run. He has a pretty big platoon split with a .402 wOBA vs LHP and .228 vs RHP so that’s something to be mindful of. Also, the Astros finish against the Reds, Rockies and Cardinals, with the former two teams ranking in the top six in caught stealing percentage. Still, if you absolutely need to stream some steals Bourgeois looks to be your best bet.

Ben Revere (32 SB, 5%)

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The main reason I say Bourgeois is the best bet for streaming steals is because of Revere’s .306 on base percentage. In 190 more plate appearances than Bourgeois he has one more stolen base. He’s actually been a pretty terrible hitter overall – a 72 wRC+ isn’t good – but he’s getting every day reps because the Twins aren’t going anywhere and have a lot of faith in their rookie centerfielder. He’s hit better in September than he has the past two months, putting up a .338 OBP and stealing seven bases in 14 games. There are no massive platoon splits, especially OBP wise, with Revere so you’re safe streaming him against any pitcher. Over the past 30 days no player has more steals than Revere’s 10.

Tony Campana (22 SB, 0%)

He has seven steals over the past 30 days and little else. In 145 plate appearances he’s up to 22 steals and only twice has he been caught. He started Friday, Saturday and Sunday’s games and picked up two stolen bases there. Last night he came into the game as a pinch runner, and even though he was caught stealing it shows you that he’s a threat to swipe a bag and help your team even when he isn’t in the starting lineup.





 

Erik writes for DraysBay and has also written for Bloomberg Sports. Follow him on Twitter @ehahmann.

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