How Are Your Counting Stats? Stolen Base Edition

Now is the point in the season where you are probably looking to accumulate stats from just about anyone. Adding and dropping and adding and dropping as the season comes to an end is a strategy that has worked for me in the past, but I play in a few daily moves leagues, where you don’t have to bring waiver claims to auction or use “FAB” money. Some fantasy managers like to let their rosters ride, but if you’re falling behind, or just need a few more stolen bases to move up a roto-point, now is the time to be more active. Here are three players who have low ESPN roster rates and should steal at least five bases the rest of the way this season.

Jon Berti, 24.2% rostered ESPN, ROS SB (Steamer): 7

Berti has benefited from the injury to Jazz Chisholm Jr., from a playing time standpoint in 2022. He has mostly been an everyday 2B/3B and has stolen three bases so far in August. Berti won’t be helping your AVG/OBP/SLG ratios, but he will be attempting to steal bases as the Marlins have the most stolen bases in the MLB this season. Out of all three players listed in this article, Berti has the most ROS projected stolen bases but is probably going to be the least productive offensively overall.

Jorge Mateo, 41.3% rostered ESPN, ROS SB (Steamer): 6

Mateo is the most rostered player on this list and it’s likely due to his recent power surge as he’s hit four home runs in August and slugged .523. His statcast sprint speed ranks sixth and the best part of that rank is his 124 competitive runs. Among those top 10 sprint speed leaders, Mateo ranks third in competitive runs behind Trea Turner and Bobby Witt Jr., which simply means he has been given a lot of opportunities this year, mostly due to his stellar defense. Similar to Oneil Cruz (below) don’t expect Mateo to get on base often. Steamer expects him to hit .228 the rest of the way.

Oneil Cruz, 26.4% rostered ESPN, ROS SB (Steamer): 4

Don’t roster Cruz if your batting average is hurting. He’s only expected by steamer to hit .237 the rest of the way. But, six more home runs with four more stolen bases could certainly help your counting stats. However, he is showing some improvement in his O-Swing%. That hasn’t translated to an improved SwStr% yet, but he’s currently trending in the right direction. Plus, he’s just so friggin’ fun to watch. He absolutely smokes the ball when he makes solid contact and his sprint speed is seventh best on Baseball Savant’s sprint speed leaderboard.