Do you remember when the stolen base category was dominated by the Red and the Diamondbacks earlier this season? Well, what a difference a month can make. We still have two more days before we close the books on June, but between Trea Turner and the mighty mites on Mike Scioscia’s Angels tearing it up on the bases, not even the great Billy Hamilton is going to get his club to the top of the leaderboards. While there was little question of Turner vaulting towards the top of the stolen base list, these Angels have been a massive surprise for fantasy owners and by the looks of things, they’re not slowing down.
Over the last three years, Scioscia’s Angels have always finished the season in the middle to lower end of the pack for steals. Last year, they finished 17th overall with 73 stolen bases while in 2015, they were 28th with just 52. In 2014, they had 81 steals on the season but that was only good for 22nd overall. You can probably blame the personnel as Mike Trout’s total has been on the decline and the team failed to roster any real burners, but you also have to look at Scioscia and his hesitancy to give the green light on a regular basis. Not that you could really blame him as the team compiled just a 60.1-percent success rate over that span.
This year, however, the Angels are running like crazy. They currently lead the majors with 74 stolen bases thanks to a massive 31 steals here in the month of June. With no Trout and a continuously ailing Albert Pujols, both Cameron Maybin and Eric Young, Jr. have seen a major uptick in playing time and, as such, have been pushing the team’s speed totals north. Maybin has 24 stolen bases on the year while Young has kicked in seven of his own. They’ve also been joined by a surprising Andrelton Simmons who has 13 on the year with seven of them coming in the last month. You can even kick in Ben Revere and Kole Calhoun who have nine stolen bases between the two of them.
While Trout is due back just after the All Star break, you can probably expect the Angels to continue running as they have. They are currently sitting on a 76.3-percent success rate and are just one game out of the Wild Card. It’s doubtful that a manager like Scioscia is going to change things up when it has been working so well. Maybin will remain the starter in left field with Young being replaced in center by Trout, but you can probably expect Scioscia to start using his speedsters in the DH spot on the days Pujols is in the field at first base.
Meanwhile, the Nationals, thanks to Turner going bananacakes with 19 steals here in June, have crept up the overall leaderboard and are now ranked sixth overall with a total of 59, 32 of which belong to the second-year burner. The Brewers, Rangers, Reds and Diamondbacks sit between them, but with the exception of Cincinnati who has Hamilton and Jose Peraza, it looks like the Nationals may find themselves right up there with the Angels; maybe as early as the All Star break.
That’s not to discount the efforts of the other teams. After all, both Elvis Andrus and Delino DeShields have 18 steals apiece, the Diamondbacks are calling up Ketel Marte and should have A.J. Pollock returning soon and the Brewers just got Jonathan Villar back, who will join a resurgent Keon Broxton who has 14 swipes on the year. These six teams are likely to fight it out throughout this season with the rest of the league falling in line a distant seventh overall and beyond. The Nationals currently rank sixth with 59 stolen bases. The Mariners are seventh with 48 and the Yankees are eighth with 46.
As for the lower end of the leaderboard – teams you are not likely to see big totals from – the Orioles sit dead last with just 18 steals on the year while the Mets, Cubs and A’s sit just above them with 22, 23 and 24 respectively. The Mets and A’s actually have representation in the top 30 overall as Jose Reyes (10) and Rajai Davis (9) sit on the cusp, but the Cubs are lagging far behind as Kris Bryant leads the team with just six stolen bases on the year. Anthony Rizzo is second on the team with five. Not exactly a pair of burners there, is it?
Below are copies of the individual steals leaderboards for both June and the overall, as well as a team steals leaderboard for the entire season. Remember, people, stolen bases continue to be on the rise this season and they are coming in bunches. Make sure you’re adding where you can to at the least, keep pace. If you find yourself lagging, you need to focus more heavily on the category, so work that waiver wire and, if needed, the trade front as well.
June Stolen Base Leaders
Name | Team | SB | CS | SB% |
Trea Turner | WAS | 19 | 3 | 86.4% |
Dee Gordon | MIA | 13 | 2 | 86.7% |
Cameron Maybin | LAA | 11 | 0 | 100.0% |
Delino DeShields | TEX | 10 | 1 | 90.9% |
Chris Taylor | LAD | 9 | 0 | 100.0% |
Andrelton Simmons | LAA | 7 | 0 | 100.0% |
Howie Kendrick | PHI | 6 | 2 | 75.0% |
Mallex Smith | TB | 6 | 4 | 60.0% |
Michael Taylor | WAS | 6 | 1 | 85.7% |
Ian Desmond | COL | 6 | 2 | 75.0% |
Elvis Andrus | TEX | 6 | 3 | 66.7% |
Ian Kinsler | DET | 5 | 0 | 100.0% |
Eric Young | LAA | 5 | 2 | 71.4% |
Hernan Perez | MIL | 5 | 1 | 83.3% |
Brett Gardner | NYY | 5 | 0 | 100.0% |
Taylor Motter | SEA | 5 | 0 | 100.0% |
Ehire Adrianza | MIN | 5 | 1 | 83.3% |
Jose Ramirez | CLE | 4 | 1 | 80.0% |
Eduardo Nunez | SF | 4 | 1 | 80.0% |
Orlando Arcia | MIL | 4 | 0 | 100.0% |
Jarrod Dyson | SEA | 4 | 0 | 100.0% |
Cody Bellinger | LAD | 4 | 1 | 80.0% |
Josh Harrison | PIT | 4 | 1 | 80.0% |
Bradley Zimmer | CLE | 4 | 0 | 100.0% |
Mookie Betts | BOS | 4 | 1 | 80.0% |
Keon Broxton | MIL | 4 | 0 | 100.0% |
Tommy Pham | STL | 4 | 0 | 100.0% |
Gregor Blanco | ARI | 4 | 1 | 80.0% |
Byron Buxton | MIN | 4 | 0 | 100.0% |
Jose Reyes | NYM | 4 | 1 | 80.0% |
Stolen Base Leaders – Overall
Name | Team | SB | CS | SB% |
Trea Turner | WAS | 32 | 5 | 86.5% |
Billy Hamilton | CIN | 31 | 5 | 86.1% |
Dee Gordon | MIA | 29 | 4 | 87.9% |
Cameron Maybin | LAA | 24 | 1 | 96.0% |
Elvis Andrus | TEX | 18 | 7 | 72.0% |
Delino DeShields | TEX | 18 | 4 | 81.8% |
Jarrod Dyson | SEA | 18 | 3 | 85.7% |
Eduardo Nunez | SF | 17 | 3 | 85.0% |
Jose Peraza | CIN | 15 | 4 | 78.9% |
Lorenzo Cain | KC | 14 | 0 | 100.0% |
Keon Broxton | MIL | 14 | 5 | 73.7% |
Jonathan Villar | MIL | 14 | 4 | 77.8% |
Paul Goldschmidt | ARI | 13 | 4 | 76.5% |
Andrelton Simmons | LAA | 13 | 2 | 86.7% |
Byron Buxton | MIN | 13 | 1 | 92.9% |
Jose Altuve | HOU | 12 | 3 | 80.0% |
Mookie Betts | BOS | 12 | 2 | 85.7% |
A.J. Pollock | ARI | 11 | 2 | 84.6% |
Kevin Pillar | TOR | 11 | 4 | 73.3% |
Mike Trout | LAA | 10 | 1 | 90.9% |
Ender Inciarte | ATL | 10 | 5 | 66.7% |
Chris Owings | ARI | 10 | 2 | 83.3% |
Chris Taylor | LAD | 10 | 2 | 83.3% |
Kevin Kiermaier | TB | 10 | 4 | 71.4% |
Brett Gardner | NYY | 10 | 1 | 90.9% |
Brian Dozier | MIN | 10 | 5 | 66.7% |
Jose Reyes | NYM | 10 | 1 | 90.9% |
Jose Ramirez | CLE | 9 | 4 | 69.2% |
Josh Harrison | PIT | 9 | 4 | 69.2% |
Michael Taylor | WAS | 9 | 2 | 81.8% |
Andrew Benintendi | BOS | 9 | 1 | 90.0% |
Wil Myers | SD | 9 | 4 | 69.2% |
Yasiel Puig | LAD | 9 | 2 | 81.8% |
Rajai Davis | OAK | 9 | 4 | 69.2% |
Taylor Motter | SEA | 9 | 0 | 100.0% |
Team Stolen Bases
Team | SB | CS | SB% |
Angels | 74 | 23 | 76.3% |
Brewers | 67 | 21 | 76.1% |
Rangers | 67 | 25 | 72.8% |
Reds | 64 | 17 | 79.0% |
Diamondbacks | 60 | 19 | 75.9% |
Nationals | 59 | 17 | 77.6% |
Mariners | 48 | 17 | 73.8% |
Yankees | 46 | 14 | 76.7% |
Red Sox | 44 | 17 | 72.1% |
Rays | 44 | 20 | 68.8% |
Marlins | 43 | 10 | 81.1% |
Padres | 43 | 18 | 70.5% |
Dodgers | 42 | 13 | 76.4% |
Twins | 42 | 15 | 73.7% |
Giants | 42 | 15 | 73.7% |
Cardinals | 40 | 17 | 70.2% |
Astros | 37 | 19 | 66.1% |
Indians | 37 | 14 | 72.5% |
Royals | 35 | 8 | 81.4% |
Pirates | 35 | 24 | 59.3% |
Braves | 31 | 15 | 67.4% |
Phillies | 30 | 17 | 63.8% |
Blue Jays | 29 | 11 | 72.5% |
White Sox | 28 | 20 | 58.3% |
Rockies | 26 | 22 | 54.2% |
Tigers | 26 | 20 | 56.5% |
Athletics | 24 | 12 | 66.7% |
Cubs | 23 | 11 | 67.6% |
Mets | 22 | 6 | 78.6% |
Orioles | 16 | 5 | 76.2% |