Intermediate MLB DFS: Stolen bases

In daily fantasy baseball, like in most things, getting the fundamentals down is integral toward laying a foundation of knowledge to build from as you progress as a player. For DFS, that means understanding how stolen bases play into your lineups.

Stolen bases

Definition

I’m going to assume you know what a stolen base is, but for DFS purposes, a stolen base is worth a hefty chunk of DK points at +5. With so many points attached to a stolen base, we must take it seriously and decide how to best use it when making lineups.

Strategy

Stolen bases feel like a statistic that would be great to accentuate in your lineups, but they usually come from players who don’t have much power and are hard to predict. The good news is, even with the downside, there is enough upside to be worth your trouble.

Picking players based solely on stolen bases is futile. A player who attempts a stolen base on a large percentage of his times on first base sounds good, but if he can’t get on base with regularity, he’s not likely to get you many DK points on average. Your strategy should be to find players who are good at stealing bases and who get on base at an above average rate. These aren’t players who will take off anytime they get a chance, but will pick their spots within the context of the game.

You’re not going to get a guarantee of SB points regularly, but you’ll hopefully end up with a batter in a good spot to get on base and give you a decent floor of DK points while also adding upside with stolen bases.