At Home Plate - Fantasy Baseball: Player Watch 2005: Speed Demons

Fantasy Baseball: Player Watch 2005: Speed Demons

Written by Daniel Paulling

Monday, 16 May 2005

In the last edition of Speed Demons, I discussed the guys that could help you in steals, but also in other areas. This left off some players who can steal with the best of them, but only produce in one or two categories. I will try to give the guys who can steal bases the most press because that is why you’re reading this article - you’re desperate for some stolen bases.

Players are ranked in the order with which I would draft them today and keep for the rest of the year.

1. OF Scott Podsednik, Chicago White Sox: Oh yeah, I had him for his four stolen base day against the Blue Jays. I have a quibble with that because, well, his team was already up big, there’s a point where you just shut it down. It’s one of those unwritten rules of baseball. Oh well! Podsednik steals and that’s all that matters in Fantasy Baseball. He won’t really help out in any other categories; he is purely a stolen base guy.

2. 2B Brian Roberts, Baltimore Orioles: What can’t this kid do? He has been hitting with the best of them and is ranked as the number one overall guy in fantasy baseball, at least by Yahoo’s standards. To expect twenty five more bags is not absolutely out of the question. He is a very valuable asset to anyone in Fantasy Baseball because he does it all.

3. OF Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Devil Rays: The D’Rays have assembled a speedy outfield with Crawford, Alex Sanchez and Rocco Baldelli. Crawford, however, is the most important one. Seriously, you can expect forty bases out of him and a great batting average. He does not have much power, but he can flat out fly.

4. 2B/SS/3B/OF Chone Figgins, Los Angeles Angels: The main reason that I rank Figgins so highly is that he is qualified at many positions. Because of this, Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia will find it difficult not to play the kid to rest regulars. Be glad for that. He should swipe thirty bags or so, he has that speed, but won’t provide much elsewhere.

5. OF Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners: Ichiro is just not hitting like he should be, residing at the .351 mark so far into the season. I expect the batting average to rise. In a more important aside, Adrian Beltre has not started hitting yet, so Ichiro will get more runs scored, further increasing his value. In accordance with the article, Ichiro will get 25 more stolen bases.

6. OF Bobby Abreu, Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies’ right fielder has gotten off to a fast start, something not common for him. He should produce slightly better statistics as the season progresses, if history is any indicator. He will have 30 stolen bases by the end of the year, which always is a nice number to have.

7. OF Juan Pierre, Florida Marlins: The Marlins have done a good job accruing speed for the top of their lineup, but they have not used this weapon to its fullest power. On the year, Pierre only has six stolen bases, but he will reach 30-35 for the year. What does that mean? He will steal at least 24 bases and if you make Pierre’s owner believe he no longer has his legs that would be a cheaper price for you.

8. SS Derek Jeter, New York Yankees: All right, the Yankees have put their captain Jeter in the leadoff spot, which might be the best place for someone with his talents. Sitting atop a powerful lineup, Jeter will score plenty of runs, hit for a very high average, and steal plenty of bases. Expect 25 or so, with a good number of homers.

9. 2B Tony Womack, New York Yankees: Womack is now hitting second in the New York Yankees’ lineup, which spells some of the best protection in the league. Pitchers will be forced to throw to Womack, which will help him in many categories. In terms of stolen bases, Womack will accrue 25 more.

10. 2B Luis Castillo, Florida Marlins: Castillo has had some problems with his hamstrings lately, which definitely hurts his fantasy stock. However, I am sure that will help make him cheap to acquire. On the season, he has five stolen bases, and I am sure another 20 are on the way. His batting average will help your club, along with his number of runs scored.

11. SS Rafael Furcal, Atlanta Braves: This guy has been absolutely atrocious at the plate for the Braves. I turn on the game a few moments after the first pitch and Marcus Giles would already be batting with no one on. This is because Furcal has been getting out so often, a killer for his stolen base numbers. You may be able to get him now – cheap; expect a good remainder of the season from him.

12. SS Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies: Rollins compares quite well to Furcal: bad numbers so far, but good numbers should come at the end of the season. His batting average is .235 and will be around .270 at the end of the season. That means that he’ll have to hit over .270 for a good portion of the season. Rollins’ stolen base numbers should be quite similar to Furcal’s for the rest of the year: 20 more, at the least.

13. 1B Derrek Lee, Chicago Cubs: He is only on the list because he performs well in other categories and steals a few bases here and there. He should get 17 more bags, but his other numbers are what you get him for. He may be the most complete player so far into the young season.

14. OF Alex Sanchez, Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Sure he took steroids, but he steals bases. If he can come anywhere close to last year’s .322 batting average, which he should, and steals 25 bases, he’ll be a steal (pardon the pun) for fantasy owners. The Devil Rays figures to have one of the speediest tops of the lineup, which should bode well for individual players racking up numbers, like Sanchez.

15. SS Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees: I am not quite sure what to expect from the 25 million dollar man. The Yankees have run him less and he has responded with better power numbers. Draft him as a 40 HR man, not a 25 stolen base guy. You could expect 18 steals from him for the entire season, which is a large drop off from last year - but his numbers are still darn good.

16. OF Willy Taveras, Houston Astros: Taveras has been having a bad time at the plate this year. He has stolen 13 bases, but I don’t know how long he will have a major league job. This youngster also will not produce in any other categories. Get him if you’re willing to take a risk, which means if you’re desperate for points.

17. OF Johnny Damon, Boston Red Sox: The Sawx haven’t really gotten their offense completely mashing, but they will and Damon will be a significant portion of it. Damon’s batting average figures to fall off from its current level of .384, but his power and speed numbers expect to greatly take off.

18. 3B Melvin Mora, Baltimore Orioles: The number two hitter in the Orioles’ lineup, Mora, is the benefactor of Roberts’ hot start and Miguel Tejada’s talents. This has not helped his stolen base numbers, but expect him to swipe a few more bags over the course of the season. Twenty is not an impossible number for him to achieve for the remainder of the season.

19. 2B Alfonso Soriano, Texas Rangers: The Rangers are not sure where their extraordinary hitter should be, but the leadoff slot would be good. Currently, he is hitting fifth in the lineup, but it won’t be before long that Buck Showalter realizes that Soriano has great speed and power, which makes him great for the leadoff role, which implies stolen bases.

20. OF Matt Lawton, Pittsburgh Pirates: This is a slight pity pick for Lawton, who represents the lowly Pirates. They don’t really have another offensive piece on their team, but Lawton is a good one. He is a legitimate 20-20 man, which means he is line for 15 homers and 15 bags more.

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