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Each week, Speed to Burn gives you the lowdown on the speed matchups you should be exploiting in the upcoming period. In addition, the STB will highlight one widely available base thief who can potentially give you a leg up in the category.
Minnesota Twins (CLE, @BAL)
The Twins play seven against the Indians and Orioles this week, two teams that have combined to throw out just two of 20 would-be-basestealers in July. Blame it on inexperience. For the O's, Craig Tatum and Jake Fox have been filling in behind the plate with Matt Wieters on the disabled list. Tatum has thrown out just two of 18 this season. Rookie Carlos Santana hasn't fared much better of late, allowing 12 of 14 to successfully take a base this month. Denard Span, Orlando Hudson, and Delmon Young are all strong plays regardless, but deep leaguers may want to consider taking Nick Punto out for a spin.
Tampa Bay Rays (@BAL, @CLE)
Most Rays are auto-starts no matter the opponent, but if you're on the fence about Sean Rodriguez and/or Jason Bartlett, consider this a good time to insert them into your lineups. Craig Tatum and Carlos Santana are going to get abused this week. You can etch that in stone.
Los Angeles Angels (@NYY, @TEX)
Jorge Posada and Francisco Cervelli's suspect arms have already been well-documented. Rangers catchers haven't been that much better, allowing 69 steals -- the eighth-most in MLB -- in 2010. Of course, that was before Bengie Molina came along. No one's tested Molina in his first 10 games as a Ranger (zero SB attempts), but it's only a matter of time before AL teams start realizing that the NL's been abusing him for two years running (he's allowed 139 SB, throwing out just 22% since the beginning of 2009). Some will argue that Bengie's poor numbers were the result of Giants pitchers who couldn't hold runners on, but I don't see Buster Posey having that problem. Not only is Posey a rookie with minimal experience at catcher, but in 13 starts at the position, he's already thrown out half as many runners while doubling Molina's caught-stealing percentage (41%). Erick Aybar, Bobby Abreu, and Torii Hunter are no-brainers, but Howie Kendrick and Maicer Izturis -- who will return to the team on Tuesday -- make for strong lineup considerations.
New York Yankees (LAA, KC)
Only Pittsburgh has thrown out a lower percentage of base thieves than the Yankees this season (17% caught-stealing rate), and only three teams have allowed as many swipes as the Royals (79). Since July 1, both teams have combined to throw out just five of 23. Brett Gardner should have a field week, while Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, and A-Rod should get in on the action as well.
Green Light Special: I'm not sure why Andres Torres is unowned in 80% of leagues, but if he's free in yours, you might want to make the add for the upcoming period. Not only are the Giants one of 20 squads who play all seven days this week, but they'll be taking on the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, two teams that have combined to allow 128 stolen bases through the season's first three and a half months. The Diamondbacks, in particular, have been atrocious against the stolen base, ceding the second highest total in baseball (82). There's some risk here as Torres is coming off a groin injury, but he did start on Saturday and Sunday and looked just fine on the bases.
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