In fantasy baseball, categories like home runs and strikeouts require overwhelming raw talent that is hard to find on the waiver wire. However, stolen bases operate under a completely different set of rules and looking at raw speed isn’t enough. Garrett Mitchell is one of the fastest players in baseball but is only 7-for-12 on the basepaths. Meanwhile, Josh Naylor is the second slowest player in all of baseball and is 21-for-26 in steals (went 30-for-32 last season). It remains the most volatile and movable category in both rotisserie and head-to-head (H2H) leagues.

While elite, high-draft-capital speedsters provide a safe statistical floor, you do not have to rely solely on blockbuster trades to win the category. Instead, sharp managers use a weekly MLB stolen base report to stream speed. With base stealing relying on so many different factors; exploiting a slow pitching delivery, a catcher with a poor pop-time, or team strategy, you can add stolen bases to your team from some under-the-radar roster additions. 

The strategy requires anchoring your roster with proven speed while identifying the optimal windows to stream role players from your fantasy baseball waiver wire. Grounded in data up to July 31, 2026, this comprehensive blueprint highlights the trends, leaders, and targets to help you dominate the basepaths. Let’s dive into who are good stolen base options for the upcoming week. 

 

 

 

MLB Stolen Base Leaders as of July 31st, 2026

The elite tier of speed features players who possess a permanent green light regardless of the matchup. In rotisserie formats, these anchors keep you competitive, while in H2H leagues, they can single-handedly win you the category in any given week.

A little bit of movement from on the leaderboard from last week’s MLB Stolen Base Report. Jose Ramirez had the biggest jump getting himself up to 26 stolen bases and tied for 4th on the leaderboard. Esteury Ruiz also continues to climb as he keeps getting playing time, and Otto Lopez runs his way onto the leaderboard jumping over some guys like Josh Naylor, Oneil Cruz, and Jackson Merrill. While you aren’t going and grabbing Jose Ramirez off the waiver, guys like Jose Caballero or Esteury Ruiz are potentially available to add as they keep piling up the steals, and now is the time to go get Oneil Cruz before he comes back from the Injured List. 

MLB Teams Attempting the Most Stolen Bases

To project future speed production, checking individual player talent is only half the battle; understanding managerial philosophy is just as critical. It doesn’t matter how fast a player is, if the team doesn’t like to run, they just won’t get the opportunity to get your steals. Teams that sit at the top of the MLB stolen base report for total attempts show an organizational commitment to aggressive baserunning, and at this point in the season if they have shown a commitment to run (or not run) that is unlikely to change. 

Miami ran wild this week stealing 13 bases and jumping back up to the top of the leaderboard (though Washington still has 2 more steals). The Rays didn’t run at all this week slowing themselves down and letting the Padres, Brewers, and Yankees all come within 1 attempt of them (and they all have more successful steals than the Rays). Miami and Washington will likely continue to race for the top and be good sources of stolen bases. You can check the match-ups against specific teams/catchers using our Daily Stolen Base Prop Finder as well as the daily stolen base prop article.

 

MLB Teams with the Highest Stolen Base Success Rate

High volume is excellent for counting stats, but poor efficiency can stall an offense and prompt a manager to turn off the green light. Fantasy managers must prioritize players on teams that maximize their opportunities. Efficient base running teams can be a great place to look for steals because they likely be more overlooked than the teams with high volume. 

Washington and Cleveland are the big teams to highlight here being on both lists of teams that run the most and in the top 5 for efficiency, and Pittsburgh isn’t far behind. The Phillies and Cubs have less volume but with their efficiency when they have a good matchup for stealing they can be a great target, but they also just have less runners to choose from (Pete Crow-Armstrong has over 35% of the Cubs total stolen base attempts). The Pirates are also a sneaky place to find steals with a lot of guys who can chip in steals. Jake Mangum is one away from being their 3rd player with 20 steals joining Konnor Griffin and Oneil Cruz, but 4 other players have at least 5 steals as well. 

 

 

 

Pitchers Allowing the Most Stolen Bases

Savvy fantasy managers understand that base runners frequently steal off the pitcher rather than the catcher. Tracking slow deliveries, high leg kicks, and subpar pickoff moves highlights the ideal matchups to exploit. These starting pitchers have surrendered the most stolen bases across the major leagues this season:

You can see how often these pitchers have been targeted in the daily stolen base prop article. Some definitely more than others, but keep in mind that their catchers play an even more important role. Below you’ll see the best and worst of catchers but also take note of the pitchers’ talent levels. Targeting against pitchers like Burns, Ryan or Rasmussen can be difficult, simply because they don’t allow many baserunners so it can be hard to predict if players will get any opportunities to steal against them. This can also help you see teams to target that have multiple players up on this list like the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants. 

 

Catchers With the Best and Worst Caught-Stealing Percentage

When validating an individual MLB stolen base report, checking the defensive metrics behind the plate serves as your final layer of security. Statcast metrics illustrate a stark divide between elite defensive anchors and catchers struggling to limit opposing runners. Our new stolen base prop finder will reveal exactly who to target and who to avoid. (minimum of 10 SB attempts against):

Best Caught Stealing Percentage

Worst Caught Stealing Percentage

 

 

 

MLB Stolen Base Trends and Fantasy Implications

It doesn’t take a lot of digging to see that stolen bases are easier to come by than ever, with some of the highest stolen base success rates that we have ever seen. The rule changes of the pitch clock, limited pitcher disengagements, and widening the bases have made stealing bases easier than ever and with teams embracing analytics they have gotten much better at knowing when to run to keep their efficiency at an all-time high while still running more often.  

For fantasy managers this means stolen bases are easier to find than ever before, but this also means you need way more stolen bases than you used to. You can no longer rely on 15 stolen bases from your roster to keep you afloat in rotisserie standings. With efficiency up across the league, managers are giving more players the freedom to run if the matchup dictates it. This creates a perfect environment for streaming tier-two or tier-three speed options who sit on your league's waiver wire.

Top Teams to Target for SBs This Coming Week:

To gain an edge for the upcoming matchups beginning August 3, 2026, we look at the intersection of aggressive team tendencies and vulnerable opponent defense. Looking closely at the MLB stolen base report allows us to pinpoint the best teams to target for streaming speed:

  • Miami Marlins (vs Atlanta Braves/Los Angeles Angels): The Miami Marlins will have every opportunity to extend their lead on top of the stolen base attempt leaderboard (and claim the top spot for total stolen bases). The Braves and Angels both don’t really have backstops that are real threats to cut them down on the basepaths with Drake Baldwin even being one of the worst catchers in CS% this season. 
  • Washington Nationals (vs Cincinnati Reds) The Nats start the week against Philly which could slow them down some because the tandem of Realmuto and Stubbs is one of the best duos of throwing runners out in the game, but getting to follow that up with the Reds and Chase Burns and Andrew Abbott in back-to-back games (40 SB allowed combined between those two) should give them enough opportunities to still lead the charge in steals this week.
  • Milwaukee Brewers (vs Pittsburgh Pirates/Minnesota Twins): The Brewers continue to be a team that runs a lot with 10 different players with at least 5 stollen bases with 7 of them having at least 8 steals. The Pirates are an alright matchup; Henry Davis has been decent at throwing runners out but not someone they couldn’t still grab some bags against but then the second half of the week against Minnesota is where they should really take off. The Twins catchers have not been good at throwing runners out all season. 
  • New York Yankees (vs. St. Louis Cardinals/Atlanta Braves): The Yankees offense has been pretty pedestrian recently, but they continue to run trying to manufacture some offense with their big bats out. I already talked about the Braves being a team you can run on, but they also get a series against the Cardinals this week. Ivan Herrera has been one of the best catchers to steal on giving up 21 stolen bases this season without throwing a single runner out.