Late outfield options can be real steals

ASK FANTASY ba s e ba l l pundits and they will tell you stolen bases are at a premium again this year, yet power can be found everywhere throughout your draft.

Stolen base specialists Trea Turner, Dee Gordon and Billy Hamilton are being scooped up at a rapid rate. But what happens if you miss out on these top guys? Do you just punt on the category and build up elsewhere? Of course not. Though many will overreact to the shortage of speed, you can easily remain competitive in the category by finding your steals elsewhere.

One of the most common mistakes people make in drafts is backing off a category after f inding a specialist. The guy who drafts Jose Altuve second overall will go on a multi-round search for power and pitching before thinking about the stolen base category again.

That type of shortsightedness tends to leave a number of 20-steal talents on the board, just waiting for you in the middle rounds, most notably in the outfield.

Brett Gardner swiped 23 bags last season and is slated to bat leadoff for one of the most potent lineups in the game once again. He still is available in the 15th round in most drafts. Ender Inciarte had 22 steals last year and comes off draft boards around the same time as Gardner.

The price you’re paying for these two outf ielders exhibits a much greater value than overdrafting Hamilton — each offers more across-the-board production with strong support for your greatest need.

You can go even deeper into your drafts with names like Manuel Margot and Bradley Zimmer. Both have the potential to steal 20-30 bases and a chance to hit 15-20 home runs. Delino DeShields Jr. and Mallex Smith could reach 40 steals at a fraction of the cost of Hamilton or Gordon.

Your late-round outf ielders can fill the steals void. Remember, you don’t need to win the category, you just need to be competitive.