How important are stolen bases?

One of the more underappreciated aspects of baseball is the stolen base. Today, a majority of the pitchers in the big leagues are sitting anywhere from 92-97+MPH for their average speed on their fastball. Not only does it make it excruciatingly difficult to be able to make contact with the ball; it is also highly difficult to be able to advance to the next base on a pitch without any contact being needed. Some of the best hitters in the league struggle with runners on the base because of the extra motivation and concentration that pitchers hone into to ensure they limit the damage. Take for example last year’s Home Run derby champion Todd Frazier. On the year with runners on base Frazier has a mediocre batting average of .174 with close to thirty strikeouts. This is definitely not something you want to look for when playing MLB fantasy baseball. What is the solution you may ask? Teams, like the defending champions Kansas City Royals, have opted to go for the non-traditional approach to the game of small ball relying mostly on timely hitting and advancement on the basepaths through stolen bases and on sacrifices. Stealing a base is a very difficult task to expect from players so Daily Fantasy baseball rewards it justly. On Draftkings & Fanduel, a stolen base is rewarded with 5 and 6 points respectively. The table setters at the top of the lineup usually compile a stat line similar to (granted not all nights are players so successful): 2 hits, 1 stolen base, and a run or two. Depending on the finer details that could add up to anywhere from fifteen to thirty points on DraftKings & Fanduel. This makes stolen base threats like speedster Billy Hamilton a great fantasy baseball daily pick on top of being an invaluable asset for his actual team. It is obvious that many teams have shifted towards the more exciting and explosive style of offense of waiting for the big hit that cashes in a couple of runs with a single swing of the bat. Although most teams have found relatively good success with this strategy, not all matchups favor this style of play. With two aces on the hill squaring off against each other such as Clayton Kershaw vs. Jake Arrieta, waiting for a long ball could lead you to waiting for something that simply isn’t all that likely to have happen. That is why those who give you daily fantasy baseball advice look deep into these matchups and will look to gain points from other places on the stat line, like Stolen Bases, when in a game where hitting and scoring will undoubtedly will be low. Stolen Bases are a key aspect and one of the finer nuances in baseball as it is turned into a bit of rarity for it to happen consistently and even more so successfully.