Regan's Rumblings: Steals and Saves

As we look to the second half, if you're like me in a lot of leagues, saves and stolen bases are areas on your teams that are ripe for improvement. I rarely spend much money or high picks on elite closers, so I'm always on the prowl for the next man up in shaky bullpen situations. Likewise, power has proven fairly easy to come by this year, but speed has become a scarce commodity. Here are 10 guys that could help in each of the two categories…

Tyler Wade (2B/SS-NYY)

Wade gets the call to help fill the void left by the Starlin Castro injury. He's primarily a shortstop, but Wade is thought to be athletic enough to also play some third base, second base, and even the outfield. As of Tuesday, Castro appears to be avoiding the DL, but Wade should get regular at-bats for at least a week. He was batting .313/.390/.444 in Triple-A with five home runs and 24 stolen bases. With a solid eye at the plate (10.1% BB%, 0.61 BB/K), it's even possible he could be the guy that Gleybar Torres (Tommy John surgery) was expected to be this year, Chase Headley's replacement. He's worth a good amount of FAAB this week.

Andrelton Simmons (SS-LAA)

Simmons could be available in some deeper leagues and at .280/.334/.413 with seven homers and a career-high 13 steals, he's quietly having an excellent fantasy season. Walking at a career-high 7.6% clip, Simmons rarely strikes out (9.4%) and while he's now hitting fifth instead of leadoff, it looks as if he still has the green light on the base paths. He should also be even better in terms of the counting stats once Mike Trout (thumb) returns.

Mallex Smith (OF-TB)

I'm seeing Smith being available in 12-team mixed leagues right now, this despite his hitting .350/.435/.438 with nine steals in just 24 games. It's hard to believe this is the same guy who the Braves tossed aside after hitting .238/.316/.365 for them in 72 games a year ago, but Smith hit .311 in Triple-A this year and deserved another big league look. Now he's looking like their long-term center fielder. The sample size is obviously low, but Smith has always walked at a decent clip, and perhaps he's figuring things out against LHP. He was just 4-for-50 (.080) against them last year but 8-for-18 so far this season.

Michael Taylor (OF-WAS)

For the first time in his career and after more than 1,000 MLB PA's, Taylor has the look of a big league regular. He's batting .277/.308/.521 overall with 11 homers and seven steals in 224 PA's, but over his last 14 games he's batting .391. Taylor still has the red flags of a 4.5% BB% and 33% K%, but those sort of strikeout rates are sort of the norm these days it seems. He'll have his share of 0-fers, but Taylor is a great athlete who for now, has regular playing time.

Jarrod Dyson (OF-SEA)

Dyson can't hit a lick against lefties, but against RHP, Dyson entered Tuesday batting a respectable .270/.346/.407 versus RHP. More importantly, he's swiped 16 bases and given the fact that the Mariners aren't exactly loaded with All-Stars in the outfield, Dyson should play fairly regularly going forward. Dyson is well on his way to his sixth consecutive 25+ stolen base season, this despite never playing in more than 120 games, a mark that he should easily top this year given good health. The lack of power or batting average upside limits his fantasy value, but the speed is valuable.

Ehire Adrianza (UT-MIN)

Adrianza is a deep league guy only, but he appears to be closing in on a rehab assignment for the Twins and could be activated within the week. Why should you care? Well, after entering 2017 with four career stolen bases in 331 plate appearances, Adrianza has six in 63 so far this year. He offers nothing in the way of power, but Adrianza has played five different positions this season, and that sort of versatility and speed gives him at least a little value in deeper formats.

Orlando Arcia (SS-MIL)

Arcia is improving in all areas over his 2016 rookie season, batting .268/.311/.392 with five homers and five steals. However, four of his five steals have come in his last 17 games after Arcia swiped just one bag in his first 56 games of 2017. Arcia could certainly stand to improve his 5.6 BB%, but keep in mind the former top prospect is still just 22 and has his best years ahead of him.

Jose Pirela (2B/OF-SD)

After batting a surprising .331/.387/.635 with 13 home runs and eight stolen bases in 201 PA's for Triple-A El Paso, Pirela received a well-deserved promotion and he hasn't missed a beat. In 17 games (76 PA's), Pirela is batting .319/.382/.551 with three home runs and three steals. In an admittedly-small sample size, Pirela has shown improved plate discipline thus far with a 7.9% BB% versus a 2.4% mark in parts of three previous big league seasons (144 PA). He's probably not going to hit for this sort of power over the rest of the season, but Pirela can run a bit and he has some value hitting at the top of the lineup.

Austin Barnes (C-LAD)

Barnes has a surprising four stolen bases and an impressive .287/.410/.494 slash in 105 plate appearances, so it's possible the Dodgers start mixing him in more, perhaps at second base on occasion in addition to catcher. Barnes possesses the upside of a top-12 fantasy catcher, but as long as Yasmani Grandal is healthy, Barnes' value will be limited. In deeper two-catcher leagues, he's certainly a guy who has value.

Alen Hanson (UT-CHW)

Hanson isn't first on the depth chart at any position, but he's second on several, and in deeper leagues, that's enough to make him relevant. For the year, Hanson is batting just .250, but for June, make that .350, and in 88 plate appearances, he's swiped three bases. Hanson stole 38 bases last year between Triple-A and a limited run in the big leagues, and in 2015 he swiped another 35. His hit tool has been slow to develop and he doesn't walk enough, but when he gets on base, Hanson can run. If you look around the White Sox infield, it's easy to see Hanson's playing time increasing in the second half. At second base, Yolmer Sanchez is a career .236 hitter. Shortstop Tim Anderson has some upside, but he's also posted an ugly 74:9 K:BB. The third baseman, Todd Frazier, is a prime trade candidate. Hanson has even seen time in the outfield where the team's best player, Melky Cabrera, won't exactly go down as an all-time White Sox great.

Relievers

Archie Bradley (ARI)

Fernando Rodney has been lights out lately in allowing just one run over his last 17.2 innings to lower his ERA from 12.60 to 4.55, so he has a fair share of job security right now. That said, there's always the potential for a Rodney meltdown, and Bradley appears to be the clear closer-in-waiting. I don't know that the door has been permanently closed on Bradley as a starting pitcher, but for this year at least, he looks to be remaining in a high-leverage relief role. Bradley has been excellent this year, posting a 1.04 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 10.9 K/9, and 1.8 BB/9 while averaging 96.4 mph with his fastball. In deeper leagues with those ratios, even though Bradley isn't accumulating saves, he still has value.

Enny Romero (WAS)

They've tried everybody else, so why not Romero or even the recently-signed Francisco Rodriguez? Romero is a lefty, which is relatively rare for a closer, but he's averaging 98 mph with his fastball and has a 3.28 ERA, which while not great for a closer, looks pretty good in Washington right now. Romero has not allowed a run in his last 15.1 innings, and during that time, he's sporting a 19:8 K:BB, so missing bats and missing the zone more than we'd like. Still, this could be a "next man up" scenario soon.

Trevor Rosenthal (STL)

He's had some hiccups, but if you're looking for a setup guy who could be closing and see a 99-mph fastball and 15.0 K/9, you start to dream of Craig Kimbrel production. Rosenthal, of course, notched 93 saves in a two-year period (2014-2015) before struggling last year. However, now that's fully healthy after hamstring and shoulder injuries last year, he could be poised to take over for Seung Hwah Oh at some point in the near future given Oh has allowed six runs in his last seven innings.

Sean Doolittle (OAK)

Santiago Casilla is always an adventure in the ninth inning, as evidenced by a 4.28 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. Casilla has also allowed three runs and 10 baserunners over his last five innings and is striking out less than a hitter per inning now. Meanwhile, I'm not sure which of Doolittle's numbers are the most impressive: 1.98 ERA, 0.51 WHIP, six hits in 13.2 innings, a 14.5 K/9, or his one walk to 22 strikeouts. Doolittle over his last six innings: one hit, no runs, no walks, 11 strikeouts. He notched saves on back-to-back days earlier in the month and could be on full-time closer duty in the near future (if he's not already).

Brad Hand (SD)

Current closer Brandon Mauer has a respectable 29:7 K:BB in 30.2 innings while allowing three home runs, but that's still translated to a 6.53 ERA and four losses, so his job is far from secure. Hand meanwhile is a trade candidate that he Padres are apparently asking for a huge return for, so there is a decent chance he stays in a Padre uniform all season and ends the year as their closer. Hand meanwhile has a 2.59 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with a 11.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. Hand had a blow-up earlier this month but for the most part has been excellent.

Huston Street (LAA)

Street is back from a triceps injury that forced him to miss nearly half the season, but in tossing a perfect inning (with a strikeout) in his first game back, he could be in the closer mix soon. Bud Norris is on the DL with a knee injury, and while Cam Bedrosian appears to be the team's closer of the future, my sense is that the Angels may look to showcase Street for a possible trade over the next month. If Street can run off two or three more clean appearances, I think he's firmly back in the mix if he isn't already.

Bruce Rondon, DET

This one is a bit of a stretch with Alex Wilson, Justin Wilson, and Shane Greene probably all ahead of Rondon on the pecking order, but if you're in a deep mixed or AL-only league, you're probably speculating this far down. Rondon is back in the big leagues after allowing six runs in just 1.1 innings in early April, and while his 3.04 ERA in Triple-A was respectable, his 1.83 WHIP and 6.2 BB/9 were not. Rondon though possesses an elite fastball that averages 96.6 mph and can touch 100 at times. In his first appearance back this week, Rondon walked one and fanned two in a scoreless inning. If he can exhibit improved control of his fastball, Rondon could start to see higher-leverage opportunities at some point this year.

Arodys Vizcaino, ATL

There's really no reason why the rebuilding Braves would keep veteran closer Jim Johnson past July 31, so look for a closer change at that point, if not sooner. Vizcaino appears to be next in line given he's both healthy and productive this year. With a 97.8 mph average fastball, Vizcaino sports a 1.99 ERA, 10.2 K/9, and 2.6 BB/9. His 3.61 FIP indicates he's been a bit on the lucky side, but I'd still bet on Vizcaino leading the team in saves the rest of the way. He should be owned in all NL-only and deeper mixed leagues.

Mike Minor, KC

Now if you want to go REALLY deep, Minor could be a guy to watch as a potential closer later this season. With the Royals likely to hit the "reboot" button next month, the current 1-2 on the depth chart, Kelvin Herrera and Joakim Soria, could both be on the move. Maybe only Herrera gets traded and Soria closes, but if both go, the remaining options are far from appealing. Like many before him, Minor is a failed starter turned successful reliever, posting a 1.88 ERA and 0.87 WHIP while seeing the average velocity on his fastball spike from last year's 90.3 mph to 94.2 mph in his first year as a reliever. His 8.9 K/9 is merely "good" for a closer, but considering the team's other options, Minor could be a closer candidate come August.

David Phelps, MIA

A.J. Ramos is far from an elite closer, but with a 40-save season on his resume (2016), he's a good candidate to be dealt to a contender this year for the perpetually-rebuilding Marlins. With a 4.9 BB/9 in back-to-back seasons and a 4.7 career mark, Ramos' control is preventing him from being among the league's elite. Meanwhile, Phelps has a 3.65 ERA and is far from elite himself, but this is all about opportunity. Jarlin Garcia is an interesting Option C, but Phelps sees likely to be next in line should Ramos get traded.