By Steve Kwan
Fantasy Sports 101 Baseball

March 21, 2008 - Beyond the obvious big-name stars like Jose Reyes and Ichiro, there are plenty of fantasy sleepers this year who have the potential to provide 30-plus stolen bases at the low, low price of just a waiver wire pickup.

Some of these names you may have heard of and some you may have not, but these speed candidates fulfill two important fantasy criteria: a.) they are all being drafted very low or not at all, and b.) they will not drag your team down in other fantasy categories. Of course, batting order changes or potential trades could change the outlook on someone’s value (i.e. Ryan Theriot), but rest assured there’s no lack of sleeper talent that can burn up the basepaths this year.

Here are five underrated speed candidates for 2008:

OF Michael Bourn, Houston Astros
Bourn, acquired from Philadelphia in the Brad Lidge deal, will hit leadoff for the Astros and has shown phenomenal speed during his short career. And he’s currently going in the mid-late rounds of drafts, behind guys like Jeremy Hermida and Shane Victorino (a good SB pick in his own right). If you don’t want to waste a high pick on Juan Pierre, make snagging Bourn a high priority in your draft. Another SB fantasy note: Bourn’s gain is Kazuo Matsui’s loss.

OF Corey Patterson, Cincinnati Reds
Almost overnight Patterson went from being jobless to plowing his way toward being the leadoff hitter for the Reds. Signed to a minor league contract two weeks ago, Patterson is on a tear, hitting .474 so far this spring. He stole 82 bases in the 2006-07 seasons and should be able to get close to 40 with Cincy if he can lock up a spot in the lineup when the 2008 season starts. He’s available on waivers in so many leagues that it’s almost silly.

OF Jerry Owens, Chicago White Sox
Owens doesn’t hit for power or a high average, but hey, that never stopped people from drafting guys like Juan Pierre and Scott Podsednik high in years past. He’s young and has time to improve his average while hitting leadoff for the White Sox. Did I mention that he stole 32 in 356 at-bats last season? Yet he’s still going undrafted in most drafts, making him the anti-Pierre of sorts. If your team is lacking in steals and you need a cheap fix, pick up Owens now because he won’t be cheap for long.

OF Rajai Davis, San Francisco Giants
In 190 at-bats last year for the Pirates and then the Giants, Davis swiped 22 bases while showing major speed. He’s penciled to split time with trade-bait regular Dave Roberts at the top of San Fran’s order, but is probably still a lock for 30 SB’s and then some. Best part is, he’s available on waivers in practically every league at this point. He’s a good pickup right now, but if Roberts were to be traded, Davis would see his value skyrocket. Buy now while the price is low. 

SS Julio Lugo, Boston Red Sox
I will play the role of an optimist and say that Lugo is primed to bounce back at least slightly from his offensive horror show from last year. Because he was so disappointing last year, many owners seem to have forgotten that Lugo still represents decent value when the shortstop field starts to thin in the later rounds. He has a career average of .271 and still looks to be able to get 30 or so stolen bases this year; add that to his extremely low standing on fantasy boards so far and you have the makings of a fantasy bargain at shortstop when 2008 starts.