Best MLB Stolen Bases Matchups — Sunday, July 26, 2026
Top stolen bases spot: José Caballero
José Caballero (NYY) tops the board at 100, facing LHP Cristopher Sánchez. The righty is running at .085 SB/PA against lefties this year — and .000 over the last two weeks, an elite bat that turns into a stolen base in about 7% of his trips. He's hitting in a spot worth about 3.9 trips, so the volume's there. He's just .200 in 5 career PA against Cristopher Sánchez, but that's a tiny sample and the matchup says regression. It all sets up in a neutral park.
The rest of the top of the board
- Esteury Ruiz (MIA) (100) vs RHP Walker Buehler: an elite bat at .123.
- Luisangel Acuña (CWS) (100) vs RHP Ronel Blanco: an elite bat at .064, due to bounce back.
- Elly De La Cruz (CIN) (97) vs RHP Kyle Leahy: an elite bat at .058.
- Grant McCray (SF) (92) vs RHP José Soriano: an elite bat at .048, due to bounce back.
- Luke Keaschall (MIN) (85) vs LHP Jeffrey Springs: an elite bat at .050.
- Anthony Volpe (NYY) (83) vs LHP Cristopher Sánchez: an elite bat at .050.
- Sam Antonacci (CWS) (76) vs RHP Ronel Blanco: a high-volume bat at .041.
Platoon edges to target
- José Caballero (NYY) — righty bat vs LHP, .085 against lefties this year.
- Elly De La Cruz (CIN) — lefty bat vs RHP, .048 against righties this year.
- Grant McCray (SF) — lefty bat vs RHP, .600 against righties this year.
- Luke Keaschall (MIN) — righty bat vs LHP, .049 against lefties this year.
- Anthony Volpe (NYY) — righty bat vs LHP, .058 against lefties this year.
How it played out
0 of the top 10 stolen bases matchups landed at least one stolen base. Top play José Caballero finished with 0 stolen bases. We post the result next to every projection so you can grade the board yourself — and so the model gets re-tuned against what actually happened.
How to read these stolen bases matchups
Each score (0–100) starts with the hitter's stolen bases per plate appearance against the hand he's facing — weighted toward the last two weeks, then the season, then a two-year baseline. Then it layers in the bullpen, his spot in the order, and park and weather. Higher means more of it points his way. It's context, not a lock — a great spot still goes 0-for-4 sometimes, and a tough one runs into one. The edge is in stacking the odds, and since we grade every board, you can see how often the top of the list delivers.
What the stolen bases board is
The Stolen Bases board projects the chance a runner swipes a bag. One statistical model scores every matchup on the slate the same way — a star and a backup judged on the matchup in front of them, not their name — and every number is graded against the real box score once the games go final.
How the model gets its number
It isn't a gut call or a name game. The projection is built from a few things:
- The runner's speed and attempt rate.
- The opposing catcher's arm (we fold in his caught-stealing rate).
- The pitcher's time to the plate.
Those pieces combine into one number, and the model re-tunes itself weekly against how its past calls actually landed.
Is there a betting edge here?
The heaviest-juiced board on the site — longshot prices that our model can't overcome. No edge, but the runner-×-catcher projection is a genuinely sharp ranking. Transparency board.
How to use it
Great for reading steal spots (a burner vs a weak arm); just not a market you beat at those prices.
Everything here is a research signal from the model, graded in public — not betting advice, and no outcome is guaranteed.
Learn more: How the model works · The picks story · Today's plays