Fantasy Baseball Steals Report: Juan Soto goes 30-30, Drake Baldwin’s defensive struggles

As stolen bases continue to rise league wide, I’m here every Wednesday to help you track important stolen base trends so you can find more speed for your fantasy teams.

Stealing a base is as much about the opposing pitcher and catcher as it is the actual base runner themself. So, being able to spot which teams and pitchers specifically are being run on most frequently will help you to figure out who can swipe some bags over the next week.

Another Mets’ rookie starting pitcher has entered the chat

Before we get to this week’s important trends, here is the stolen base leaderboard over the past seven days.

Player SB CS
Steven Kwan 5 0
Royce Lewis 4 0
Luke Keaschall 4 0
Trevor Story 3 0
Dansby Swanson 3 0
Juan Soto 3 1
Corbin Carroll 3 1
Pete Crow-Armstrong 3 0
Caleb Durbin 3 0

At worst, Royce Lewis stealing bases is a good sign that he feels healthy.

After a slow month on the base paths, Luke Keaschall seems ready to turn on the jets for the final few weeks.

Now, here is the overall stolen base leaderboard on the season.

Player SB CS
José Caballero 43 9
Chandler Simpson 39 11
José Ramírez 37 7
Oneil Cruz 37 4
Trea Turner 36 7
Bobby Witt Jr. 34 8
Pete Crow-Armstrong 34 7
Luis Robert Jr. 33 8
Elly De La Cruz 33 7
Victor Scott II 32 3
Juan Soto 30 3

José Caballero is getting more chances to start as Anthony Volpe’s slide continues. If Caballero is in the lineup, he will be stealing bases.

Next, here are some players that we’d hoped would be more aggressive or efficient on the base paths in the second half.

Player SB CS
Lawrence Butler 1 2
Christian Yelich 2 1
Ian Happ 2 2
Mookie Betts 2 2
Ronald Acuña Jr. 2 1
Sal Frelick 2 2
Harrison Bader 2 3
Matt McLain 3 2
Wyatt Langford 3 3
Kyle Tucker 3 2
Michael Harris II 4 3
Pete Crow-Armstrong 4 3
Cedanne Rafaela 6 3

It would be nice if Lawrence Butler could recoup some of his lost fantasy value by being more active on the basepaths.

Kyle Tucker was among the league leaders with 22 stolen bases in the first half before he stopped running after the break.

Now, let’s go over the most important stolen base trends over the past week.

Fantasy Baseball Stolen Base Targets

With just over two weeks left in the regular season and every stolen base holding that much more value, let’s look at which teams are facing the easiest pitchers and catchers to run against moving forward.

The Marlins are by far the best team to target when seeking stolen bases. They’re catching tandem of Agustín Ramírez and Liam Hicks can’t throw anyone out and Sandy Alcantara is one of the worst pitchers in the league at holding runners on.

Over the next week, they have games against the Tigers and Rockies.

Alcantara is scheduled to face the Tigers this Friday, but they don’t run much as a team. Only Jahmai Jones, Wenceel Pérez, and Zack McKinstry have attempted multiple stolen bases since the beginning of August.

For the Rockies, Jordan Beck, Tyler Freeman, and Brenton Doyle are by far their most aggressive base stealers. However, Freeman is a poor 5-for-9 over the past six weeks.

The Braves have also proved easy to run against and will likely be targeted more so coming up after Sean Murphy’ship labrum tear ended his season. That will open the door for likely National League Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin to catch a greater share of games down the stretch.

While already proving to be one of the best hitting catchers in the league, Baldwin has been bad at throwing out runners. His 11% caught stealing rate is the worst for any backstop that’s started at least 70 games.

Atlanta has a four-game series against the Nationals next week who have attempted the fifth-most stolen bases among all teams this season. Lately, Daylen Lile, Luis García Jr., and Jacob Young have been their most aggressive base stealers with Dylan Crews, CJ Abrams, and Brady House active as well.


Sudhir Choudhary

Website: https://tvnworld.com

Sudhir Choudhary is the Founder, CEO, and Editor‑in‑Chief of The Vagabond News, a global media platform under Meridian Multiventures Pvt. Ltd. He is recognized for editorial leadership, brand integrity, and factual accuracy, building TVN into a trusted voice in journalism. Beyond media, he leads ventures like BabyNBeauty.com, Glow & Grow, Thai Royal Properties, and Investers Friend, reflecting his vision for scalable, trustworthy platforms.