Speed Revisited

By Robby Wellington – Staff Writer

Last month, I listed a number of speedsters and attempted to project their final steal totals. Now that the landscape has changed somewhat, I will rank my top-15 thieves, with their projected totals from here on out.

1. Jose Reyes (36) – My pick to lead the league in stolen bases is holding up so far. The extra at-bats atop the potent Mets’ offense helps. Despite hitting .246, Reyes’ OBP is up 15 points from last year, as he is on pace to more than double his walk totals from 2005.

2. Scott Podsednik (33) – He hasn’t attempted a steal in the last 10 days, meaning a couple of 3-4 steal games are probably on the horizon for Pods.

3. Corey Patterson (30) – Patterson has been insane this last month. He should be able to get regular playing time from here on out and should continue to run with the best of them. He may be a good “buy high” candidate, as many of his owners still do not trust him. That said, Figgins, Pierre and even Ichiro are probably all safer bets for steals.

4. Chone Figgins (29) – What you would expect from Figgins. . .

5. Juan Pierre (27) – . . .and Pierre.

6. Ichiro (25) – The man has been amazing the last two weeks and should finish up the season as a top five fantasy outfielder.

7. Hanley Ramirez (24) – Hanley’s numbers should dip a bit more and then stabilize, but his speed is for real and that alone gives him value.

8. Carl Crawford (24) – Crawford has begun pummeling the ball and his increased power should come at the slight detriment to his stolen base totals.

9. Brian Roberts (23) – The player every “smart” owner avoided in the draft has put up impressive steal numbers despite missing 22 games. Amazingly, still looking for his first home run though.

10. Jimmy Rollins (22) – Rollins has four steals over the last 10 games and has only been caught twice this year. Look for him to approach 40 steals when all is said and done.

11. Dave Roberts (20) – This may be a high estimate considering Roberts will most likely get hurt at some point this year. Roberts still sits against most lefties, although he is hitting .357 off them this year.

12. Felipe Lopez (19) – After stealing five bags in two games, Lopez went nearly a month without a swipe. He’s back on track now with three last week.

13. Alfonso Soriano (18) – Another player every “smart” owner avoided on draft day. Soriano is running more, albeit less effectively this year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him run late in the year in a push to reach 40-40. Also, monitor trade talks closely as they could have a profound impact on his running habits.

14. Carlos Beltran (17) – Beltran is back baby!

15. Mike Cameron (16) – Cameron has eight steals over the last month and has yet to be caught. He’s probably still not worth using in most formats though.