Stealing bases is an important aspect of fantasy baseball. Duh, you know that. Regardless of the value of a stolen base in "real" baseball, in fantasy it is one-fifth of the hitting categories in standard leagues. Having the most steals in a league is worth the same as having the most home runs, the highest average, etc.

So let's take a look at the top base-stealers this year, not by total stolen bases, but by stolen base percentage, which is simply stolen bases/stolen base attempts. I set the minimum stolen base total at 15 because we don't want a guy who stolen seven bases in eight attempts to show up.

Here's a list of the top ten sorted by SB Efficiency:

Player       SB      CS      SB Efficiency
Jason Werth        20       1        95%
Dustin Pedroi      20       1        95%
Jimmy Rollins      47       3        94%
Matt Holliday      28       2        93%
Ian Kinsler        26       2        93%
Randy Winn         25       2        93%
Ichiro Suzuki      43       4        91%
Willy Taveras      68       7        91%
Luis Castillo      17       2        89%
Carlos Beltra      25       3        89%

This list certainly contains some of the elite base-stealers like Willy Taveras, Ichiro, and Jimmy Rollins, but how about Jason Werth and Dustin Pedroia finding their way to the top. Werth gets most of his attention from his power numbers, but 20 steals in just 21 attempts shows he has the speed to repeat that type of total.

Of course this is not the most accurate method--this probably is-- but I would think the player on this list will at least maintain their stolen base totals next season. I won't guarantee improvement because there are too many factors like managerial preference and opportunity I am not taking into account. Also, there is the rationality that teams will pay more attention to these players on the basepaths next year

For the players coming next, those that constitute the bottom 10 of the list above, I pretty much guarantee that their stolen base totals will not rise next season. They were given the green light plenty of times and did not follow through often. It would not surprise me if next season, mangers will be more hesitant to give the steal sign to these players. They are:

    Player       SB      CS   SB Efficiency
Ryan Theriot        22      13       63%
Bobby Abreu         22      11       67%
Brandon Philli      23      10       70%
Nick Punto          15       6       71%
Eugenio Velez       15       6       72%
Denard Span         18       7       72%
Chone Figgans       34      13       72%
Lastings Mille      24       9       73%
B.J. Upton          44      16       73%
Coco Crisp          20       7       74%

Take a look at these players and just keep an eye out for them on draft day. If your drafting Bobby Abreu for his hitting ability, that's fine. But don't expect the same stolen base production next year.