Fantasy Baseball: NL Second Half Stolen Base Leaderboard

by Ray Guilfoyle on Oct 7, 2009 5:09 PM EDT in Baseball Comment 1 comment

Colorado Rockies' Carlos Gonzalez steals second base beneath the tag of San Francisco Giants shortstop Juan Uribe during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

4 months ago: Colorado Rockies' Carlos Gonzalez steals second base beneath the tag of San Francisco Giants shortstop Juan Uribe during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

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Continuing the second half leaderboard series, I give you the NL second half stolen base leaders. Here you may find a cheap stolen base guy to get late in your drafts in 2010. In this list I am using SBO%, which represents a hitters stolen base opportunity percentage. SBO% tells you how often a hitter attempts a stolen base once he reaches base.

Let's take a look at the leaderboard after the jump.

Player	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	KO	SB	CS	SBO%	BA	OBP
Bourn, Michael CF HOU	278	41	78	0	10	25	70	29	4	0.320	0.281	0.341
Morgan, Nyjer LF WAS	153	29	55	1	10	9	17	19	7	0.406	0.360	0.410
Cabrera, Everth SS SD	288	42	73	2	21	36	71	18	7	0.229	0.254	0.340
McCutchen, Andrew OF PIT	283	51	81	10	31	44	55	15	5	0.160	0.286	0.378
Rollins, Jimmy SS PHI	326	50	89	14	43	18	30	15	3	0.168	0.273	0.308
Kemp, Matt CF LA	285	49	76	15	51	18	63	15	4	0.202	0.267	0.311
Ramirez, Hanley SS FLA	269	50	91	10	46	30	53	15	1	0.132	0.338	0.412
Utley, Chase 2B PHI	268	51	67	11	32	36	53	14	0	0.136	0.250	0.360
Phillips, Brandon 2B CIN	288	33	82	6	40	13	41	13	3	0.168	0.285	0.321
Braun, Ryan J. LF MIL	308	52	100	16	56	21	53	13	3	0.132	0.325	0.374
Theriot, Ryan SS CHC	279	34	75	0	24	26	42	11	5	0.158	0.269	0.332
Gonzalez, Carlos OF COL	195	42	62	12	24	19	46	11	4	0.185	0.318	0.382
Matsui, Kazuo 2B HOU	257	29	65	7	28	15	43	10	0	0.125	0.253	0.296
Stubbs, Drew OF CIN	180	27	48	8	17	15	49	10	4	0.222	0.267	0.323
Victorino, Shane CF PHI	274	40	74	4	20	24	30	10	3	0.133	0.270	0.338
Velez, Eugenio 2B SF	249	38	69	5	31	16	47	10	5	0.176	0.277	0.321
Castillo, Luis 2B NYM	241	36	79	1	22	27	40	10	3	0.123	0.328	0.395
Taveras, Willy CF CIN	123	16	30	0	4	2	14	9	2	0.344	0.244	0.256
McLouth, Nate CF ATL	210	37	51	6	21	37	46	9	5	0.159	0.243	0.365
Reynolds, Mark 3B ARI	257	43	66	20	40	32	103	9	3	0.122	0.257	0.344

A few guys that stand out in this list, based on SBO%, are no surprise to many fantasy/roto owners. The Astros Michael Bourn, the Reds Willy Taveras, and the Nationals Nyjer Morgan all attempted a SB at least 30% of the time they reached base. But Taveras owners will have to wonder if he will even have a job in 2010, due to the presence of CF prospect Drew Stubbs, who stole 10 bases in his 180 ABs. Stubbs attempted an SB 22% of the time he reached base, which tells me that Dusty Baker will let his leadoff hitter run next season. I just wonder who that will be.

A couple other guys that attempted an SB at least 20% of the time they reached base are the Dodgers Matt Kemp and the Padres Everth Cabrera. I wonder how many SBs Kemp will attempt since he will more than likely be hitting in the middle of the Dodgers lineup in 2010. I don't see a significant dropoff, as manager Joe Torre likes to be aggressive on the basepaths.

Cabrera is a speed demon who I think can steal 40+ in 2010, and possibly 50. He may hit leadoff in 2010, and the Padres will more than likely struggle to score runs again in 2010, so Cabrera should have the green light come March 2010. Feel free to spend accordingly.

The Rockies Carlos Gonzalez, or CarGo, has the potential to go 20-20 in 2010, as he appears to have reached his potential after a year and a half of mediocre production in Oakland and Colorado.

Finally, I can see Andrew McCutchen getting the green light a bit more in 2010, and could steal 35+ bases with average power.

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