Strategy Review IV: Dumping Steals

Back in May, when I was talking about a variety of category dumps, Brett chimed in with an oldie but a goodie:

I think if I had to dump at least one category, it would be steals. It's definitely the most straightforward category to dump. Of course, like you said, you're depleting the hitter pool for yourself, because you cannot buy anyone projected to steal any more than a handful of bases.

Did I say something about "depleting the hitter pool"?

Probably. It sounds like something I'd say.

The reality, though, is that steals is the easiest category to dump because there are so many guys who don't contribute.

Non-Contributors by Category 2009

Stat		$	% of $
AL HR	41	$122	5.6%
AL SB	96	$891	40.8%
NL HR	58	$256	10.8%
NL SB	106	$918	38.9%

This chart represents the number of players who had 2 or fewer steals or home runs at the All-Star Break who were auctioned in a typical A.L. or N.L.-only league, the total dollars they and their non-auctioned counterparts have contributed to the player pool and the percentage of auction dollars they've earned overall.

We know that home runs and RBI are difficult to uncouple if you want to dump HR but not RBI, but this chart shows us how hard it actually is. On the other side of the ledger, 57% of the hitters auctioned in the American League and 58% purchased in the National League have contributed next to nothing in steals so far. Your player pool is limited when you eliminate players who steal bases, but you still have a significant number of choices to make come Auction Day.