Welcome back RazzJiblets to our weekly dive into Fantasy Baseball stolen base treasures. I’ve given you lots of great tools to look at this season when it comes to stolen bases, now the next few weeks I am going to help you book some spiffy second half steals prospects to help win your league.
I will start by telling all of you that the guy to pickup is Acuña. No not the guy with Grady Sizemore’s knees. I’m talking about the one in the Mets farm system Lil’ Brother Luisangel.
Who? Luisangel Acuña.
Sounds like you said Louis Angel Acuña, are they related? Yes, I just told you they are brothers.
So Like Brother Louie, the 1973 hit by the Stories remade from the UK band Hot Chocolate? Um I guess….
ññ
It really is one of my favorite jams from that era Brother Louie ya know. There’s this local band that used to be called Screamin’ Gene and the Lake Louie Growlers that did a mean cover of it, have you heard of them? Um…. No, but how about I get back on track and tell you about Luisangel.
Well folks to start he is the younger brother of oft injured #1 Overall 2024 Fantasy pick Ronald Acuña Jr. The power tools are a little different in that Luisangel has a much smaller build and would need to go all Jose Altuve to get to where some of his brother’s power numbers have soared to. The hit tool grade is also much lower on Luisangel. That being said his K-Rate is actually lower than Ronald’s was at AAA so there is some hope he can pull off a decent batting average.
What is similar is the speed and the knack for getting that extra base via the steal. Luisangel stole 59 bases over 569 Plate appearances at AA last year, and hasn’t slowed down much at AAA this year swiping 27 bags so far in 368 Plate appearances. His CS rate is way up in 2024 at AAA, but so was Ronald’s at this age in the upper minors.
With Starling Marte out a month that means the Mets have DJ Stewart and Tyrone Taylor in the OF everyday. Jeff McNeil is struggling mightily at the dish, but could be a better answer in the OF currently than either of those two. Stewart still has options left and could be sent down. With the Mets currently just two games out of the wild card it is time for them to Itshay or get off the otpay. I expect an Itshay and that could mean an extra 15-20 steals if Luisangel gets called up and is able to stick in the big leagues.
Here’s Our Stolen Base Leaderboard through Sunday July 7th
The Speed Dials:
We hit 1 of 4 Speed Dials this week.
Overall, that means we are now 12 for 52 on the season. What would 12 extra stolen bases do for you in your SB standings?
Remember these are exact dates to pick up and stream steals guys in daily leagues. Reminder these stats and analysis includes 2023 and 2024 data.
Rays Vs Yankees – Wednesday July 10th
Josh Lowe – He shouldn’t be only rostered in 30.5% of ESPN leagues, but he is. He has above average sprint speed at 28.1 Ft/sec and is 39 for 42 stealing bases the last two seasons. He’ll face Marcus Stroman who allows 93.9% of runners to succeed and allows .131 SB/IP. Austin Wells and Jose Trevino both rank near the bottom of the catcher throwing rankings.
Reds Vs Rockies – Thursday July 11th
Stuart Fairchild – Bottom of the order stolen base wizard for the Reds will face a lefty Austin Gomber which means he’ll be in the lineup. He’s top 30 for sprint speed in MLB and is 21 for 25 on stolen bases the last two years. Gomber allows .73 SB/IP and 89.5% of base stealers to succeed. Elias Diaz is one of the top catchers at throwing out runners, but I’m guessing he is at DH or resting on getaway day.
Editors Note: Fairchild hit the IL Monday, right after this article was written and submitted. The Reds outfield is all kinds of hurt and shook up with the trade for Austin Slater. Slater isn’t a speed threat, but he or Will Benson are your most likely waiver wire candidates to benefit from the Rockies subpar battery. Jake Fraley could also benefit, but he and Benson are both lefties and may take a seat in favor of platoony tunes.
Cardinals vs Cubs – Friday July 12th
Masyn Winn – Going back to our hit from last week who will face Kyle Hendricks if he is somehow still an MLB starter Friday. Winn is 11 of 15 on steals the last two seasons with a sprint speed of 28.7 Ft/sec. Hendricks is awful at holding runners and has lots of traffic. He allows 88.9% of runners to succeed and has an awful .160 SB/IP. Both Cubs catchers are in the bottom third of the throwing metrics.
Mets vs Rockies – Saturday July 13th
Harrison Bader – He’s 33 of 40 swiping bags the last two years and owns a sprint speed at 28.1 Ft/sec. He’ll face Ryan Feltner one of our favorite targets who allows .163 SB/IP and and 88% conversion rate. Diaz will likely be catching this one, but with Feltner on the mound he won’t stand much of a chance if Bader gets on.
As always, if you’re looking for anything further out for next week where we don’t have exact pitching match-ups hit me up here or on Twitter @TheGreatKnoche
