“One speed, one gear. Go ahead!”
– Charlie Sheen
While more and more players are reaching double digits in stolen bases, it’s not easy to get consistent production from a single player.
But if you could find that one thing that could help you speed things up, that could be a game changer.
So, here’s a quiz for you, Hotshot (you know, that’s a reference to “Speed”).
Guess who will be heading into the weekend leading the way in stolen bases this month?
That’s not Ellie de la Cruz. That’s not Bobby Witt Jr. or Bryce Turan.
Not even Jarren Duran, who tied for second-most.
No, it’s David Hamilton, who, despite having 11 stolen bases this month (all of which have come in the past 12 games, including four against the Yankees), is a player who was rostered in 10 percent of ESPN leagues as of Friday.
In those 12 games, he had 13 hits in 41 at-bats (.317 batting average), two home runs, six RBIs, nine runs scored, a .333 on-base percentage and an .846 OPS.
He is batting .298 this month after batting .333 with seven stolen bases in 19 games in May.
Since May 4, the 26-year-old speedster is batting .315 with 18 stolen bases and an .838 OPS.
Hamilton stole 20 bases and finished with a .288 batting average, four home runs, 13 RBIs, 26 runs scored and a .776 OPS.
Hamilton’s speed is real, with his sprint speed ranking in the 90th percentile.
He has appeared in 328 minor league games and stolen 179 bases, including 70 in 119 Double-A games in 2022 and 57 in 103 Triple-A games last year.
He also has some power, hitting 12 homers in 2022 and 17 in 2023, and is selective at the plate, with a chase rate of 21%, which puts him in the 90th percentile.
But Loto Rage doesn’t think Hamilton is or will ever be a .288 hitting player, and his BABIP (.373) and expected batting average (.254) back that up.
Should his low batting average and the fact that he’s primarily been reserved for left-handed pitching (Boston isn’t scheduled to face any lefties this week) deter you from acquiring Hamilton? Absolutely not.
Even if he approaches those numbers, as he did in his minor league batting average of .250 (.251), he has solid on-base ability (albeit with a low walk rate) and is getting consistent playing time on a team with a reputation for having good baserunning.
If Hamilton is on base, he runs. That’s it. The end.
Below are some others you could add to your roster right away.
Washington’s Lane Thomas (53.3% appearance rate) stole 11 bases in his first 22 games before being placed on the disabled list in April.
The only problem is that he’s batting just .184 with a .503 OPS. In 23 games since returning from the IL, the 28-year-old is batting just .273 with five stolen bases, six home runs, 14 RBIs, 17 runs scored and an .876 OPS.
Arizona’s Jake McCarthy (2.2%) had just two stolen bases in his first 43 games, but since May 25 he is batting .339 with one home run, six RBIs, nine runs scored, eight stolen bases and a .889 OPS.
He has never played more than 99 games in a season and has often been benched against left-handed pitching, but he is a .268 hitter and a solid defender at the plate, stealing 20 or more bases in each of the past two seasons.
Colorado’s Brenton Doyle (19.8%) has 18 stolen bases, seventh in the majors, and is batting .262 with one home run, eight RBIs, seven runs scored and four stolen bases this month.
There is one drawback: he many His batting average at Coors Field (.339, 10 stolen bases, .917 OPS) is better than his batting average on the road (.213, 8 stolen bases, .586 OPS).
He’s a risky option for anyone in a week-to-week league with away games.
Everything you need to know about MLB betting
Two young players to watch are Oakland’s Zach Geroff and the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Geroff is batting just .202 this season, but in his past 18 games through Friday he is batting .262 with five home runs, 11 RBIs, nine runs scored and four stolen bases for an .849 OPS.
He has 20-20 potential, but strikeouts and a low batting average may be part of the deal.
Crowe-Armstrong has 8 stolen bases in 16 games in June (second-most in the major leagues) and 13 stolen bases for the season (a 100% success rate), despite only batting .132 for the month and .202 for the season.
He’s been a bit unlucky at the plate with a .265 BABIP and there’s room for improvement in his contact rate, but as he showed in the minor leagues (.296 with 41 home runs and 81 stolen bases in four seasons), he has elite speed and good power.
big hit
Carlos Correa, SS, Twins
After hitting .249 with four home runs and 19 RBIs through his first 40 games, he is batting .412 with four home runs and 16 RBIs through his first 17 games this month.
Reinaldo Lopez SP, Braves
He has not allowed more than three runs in any of his 13 starts and is 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA and a .224 batting average in his past four starts.
Andrew Vaughn, 1B, White Sox
Entering Friday’s game, he had at least one hit in 17 of his last 19 games with a .346 batting average, five home runs, 16 RBIs, 12 runs scored and a .947 OPS. In his first 51 games, he was batting .195 with four home runs, 18 RBIs and a .570 OPS.
Matt Waldron SP, Padres
Since giving up seven runs on May 5, he’s gone 4-2 with a 1.82 ERA, 47 strikeouts and a .184 batting average in his next eight starts.
Big Wife
Brent Rooker, outfielder, Athletics
After batting .283 with 12 home runs in his first 195 at-bats, he batted .185 with one home run, five RBIs, one run scored, 24 strikeouts and a .577 OPS in his next 61 at-bats.
Zach Littell SP/RP, Rays
In seven starts since his most recent win (May 11), he is 0-3 with 31 strikeouts, eight walks, eight home runs and an opponent batting average of .301.
Taylor Ward, outfielder, Angels
Through the first 15 games this month, he was just 5-for-51 (.098) with one home run, 16 strikeouts and a .450 OPS, but his batting average plummeted from .268 to .235.
Tarik Skubal SP, Tigers
He allowed eight earned runs (10 ¹/₃ innings), three home runs and a .302 ERA in the losing streak.
Check your swing
— Riley Green is batting .308 with four home runs, 15 RBIs, 12 runs scored and two stolen bases for a .975 OPS through his first 17 games this month. In his last 10 games ending Friday, he is 14-for-39 (.359 OPS) with three home runs, 13 RBIs, one stolen base and a 1.175 OPS.
– Since May 17, Hunter Brown has lowered his ERA from 7.71 to 4.72, going 3-1 with a 1.70 ERA, 41-8 with a .189 batting average and 11 percent strikeout-to-walk rate. He remains available in about 40 percent of ESPN leagues.
Joe Ryan was 1-2 with a 3.60 ERA and .211 batting average through his first four starts this month, but he has allowed the most home runs (seven) in the major leagues during that span, and his 14 this season is tied for third most in the league.
– Lottery Rage favorite Jack Flaherty has not allowed an earned run in his last three starts and is 3-0 with a 19-2 strikeout/walk ratio and a .109 opponent batting average in those games. In his last eight starts he has a 1.86 ERA, 64-7 strikeout/walk ratio and a .195 opponent batting average.
Jeimer Candelario is batting .338 with six home runs, 15 RBIs, nine runs scored and three stolen bases for a 1.005 OPS through his first 17 games, improving from a .218 batting average on May 31 to a .251 batting average on Thursday. He has recorded at least one hit in 15 of those games.
– Tyler Soderstrom, who is batting .232 this season, has had at least one hit in 11 of his last 14 games and is batting .286 with four home runs, eight RBIs, seven runs scored and a .903 OPS in that span.
Mackenzie Gore after a terrible showing against the Mets on June 3rd In his next two starts, he went 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA, a 17-2 strikeout/walk rate and a .239 batting average allowed, and he also struck out 18 percent of his batters swinging in those games against the Braves and Marlins.
– Connor Wong (22% appearance rate) entered the weekend with two stolen bases this month and is batting .342 with six RBI, six runs scored and an .861 OPS through his first 13 games.
This week’s team name
Cosmo Kremer
