Two stars’ stolen base stats can propel your team

Winning a fantasy baseball championship can be one of the most daunting of tasks. The season is a six-month grind, and if you’re not on top of the daily MLB news and staying in tune with all the action around the diamond, the uphill climb gets even steeper. 

Those who do typically land in the winner’s circle because they find sources of production few others do, like finding stolen bases in some of the strangest of places. 

When the Mariners acquired Josh Naylor at the MLB trade deadline, his fantasy managers’ stress levels climbed as the power-hitting first baseman was now moving from one of the more hitter-friendly ballparks to one of the most difficult for home runs. Naylor has four homers through 65 at-bats, which will keep him on-pace for roughly 25, but the real excitement surrounding him is this massive surge in stolen bases.

Through 18 games with Seattle, Naylor already has 11 stolen bases. No, that’s not a typo. He has 11 stolen bases already, and that matches what he did through 93 games in Arizona. The total is absolutely outlandish for Naylor, whose previous career-high was 10, and it doesn’t look like it will be slowing down anytime soon. 

Not only has he only been caught twice in 24 attempts, but the Mariners rank fourth in MLB with 128 stolen bases and third with 157 attempts. Mariners manager Dan Wilson is a former catcher and has done a fantastic job teaching his players to be aggressive on the basepaths. Naylor is never going to be someone you rely on for the steals, but as long as he is delivering them, your team is going to skyrocket. 

Another stolen base contributor whose speed routinely flies under the radar is another Josh — Lowe from Tampa Bay. Touted as a power/speed combo, Lowe doesn’t garner a whole lot of attention due to injuries. He has appeared in just 75 games this season and he has just 12 stolen bases.

But when you narrow the time frame to what has happened around baseball over the past two weeks, you’ll see Lowe’s four stolen bases is second-most behind Naylor and a few guys also tied at six. 

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Lowe is also going to benefit from how aggressive the Rays have been on the bases this season. They rank first in MLB with 155 steals, 22 more than the next team, and rank first overall in attempts with 195. Manager Kevin Cash is also a former big league catcher who routinely teaches his players the art of the stolen base. They’ve been running hard all season long and won’t be stopping anytime soon. 

Finding under-the-radar statistical boosts is what wins fantasy baseball championships. You need to throw preconceived notions out the window and roll with the changing times. If that means power-players like Naylor and Lowe are now your stolen base champions, so be it. Winning is winning, and that’s all that matters. 

Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy baseball news and advice.