This article is part of our Sorare MLB series.
This season is not about power, but speed. This April saw dozens more stolen bases than April did last season, and last season featured the most stolen bases in over a century. So yeah, it seems like 2025 may feature record-breaking bag swiping. That is part of my focus here for this week's Sorare suggestions. These are my recommendations for Upgrades, Holds and Downgrades. Don't worry, there will be pitchers in the mix, even if they don't steal bases. Well, other than Shohei Ohtani.
The number in parentheses represents the player's last limited card sale price as of 4/30.
Upgrades
Luis Robert, CWS ($6.85): Now would be a good time to buy into Robert. Even though he's hit below the Mendoza Line to start 2025, over the last two weeks he has multiple games with over 20.0 Sorare points. That in part because he has four homers and 12 stolen bases. Sure, the Cuban outfielder has been caught five times, but last year he was only caught six times, so he's possibly been unlucky. Speaking of which, the reason I think now's a good time to take a chance with Robert is his .193 BABIP. He's never finished a season below .300, and clearly he doesn't lack for foot speed. There's a good chance Robert steals 50 bases this year.
Luisangel Acuna ($3.55): Ronald's younger brother, one of the Mets' top prospects, debuted in MLB last season. He hit .308 and slugged .641 in 14 games, but power is not his game. In each of the last two seasons, he stole over 40 bases down in the minors. This year that power from 2024 has been missing, but Acuna has stolen seven bases in 25 games. Now primed to start at second base for the Mets, Acuna has the opportunity to pick up Sorare points from swiping bags and turning singles into doubles.
Max Meyer, MIA ($3.09): When this season began, I was primed to target hitters going up against Meyer for fantasy purposes. Indeed, I went down that route on the DFS front. While his last start went poorly, he's still been so strong this season that my opinion has already changed a decent amount. Meyer's is a classic story. A vaunted pitching prospect has arm surgery young and doesn't appear to have it when he returns. Last season, Meyer returned after missing all of 2023 and had a 5.68 ERA in 11 starts. Maybe he just needed a chance to adjust to pitching again? Through six starts this season, Meyer has not just a 3.18 ERA, but a 2.90 FIP and 2.46 xFIP. He has a 33.1 strikeout percentage, and a remarkable 14.7-percent swinging strike rate. Before his bad start in Seattle, Meyer had over 20 Sorare points in every start.
Holds
Michael King, SDP ($8.87): Three pitchers have complete games this year, two of them shutouts. One of those was pitched by King. Now, there is a caveat on that, as he was at home against the Rockies, MLB's worst offense. That being said, while King didn't garner as much attention as the guy he was traded for, Juan Soto, the former Yankee was good with the Padres last year moving from the bullpen into the rotation. Even if you don't believe in his 2.09 ERA this season, he has a 2.93 FIP, in line with his 2.95 ERA in 2024. While his best game was that Rockies outing, King has two other starts worth over 30.0 Sorare points.
Trevor Story, BOS ($3.47): Story has already played in more games than he did in 2024, and he's approaching the 43 games he played in 2023. In fact, since joining the Red Sox, Story hasn't managed to play in more than 94 games in a season. So far, the former Rockies player has stayed healthy and hit .271 with five homers and six stolen bases. Back in Colorado he was a 20/20 guy three times, even though bases weren't stolen as often back then. The reason Story is a hold, though, is the health question. If you have him in your lineup you can ride with him for now, but players on the IL can't get you Sorare points.
Downgrades
Bryce Miller, SEA ($4.08): Miller is the foremost example of the impact Seattle's park has for its pitchers. In his career, the righty has a 2.66 ERA at home and a 4.55 ERA on the road. This year his home ERA is 2.30, while his away ERA is 4.80. I grant you the Mariners play half their games in Miller's favored park, but if you crunch the numbers, that means they play the other half elsewhere. Miller's two single-digit Sorare games this season were both on the road. On top of that, his control has been an issue, as Miller has walked 5.6 batters per nine innings this year.
Taylor Ward, LAA ($2.71): Ward got the final day of April off, and both he and the Angels may have needed that. He had failed to get a hit in the four prior games, all of them yielding negative Sorare points. Just as recently as last season, Ward was a respectable complementary bat in the Angels' lineup (although with Mike Trout out, there was nobody to complement). This year, Ward has six homers, but that's about it. Through 28 games, he has 28 strikeouts against seven walks, and he hasn't stolen a single base, though he was caught stealing one time. If the Angels had anybody viable to play in his stead, Ward might be hitting the bench more often.
Maikel Garcia, KAN ($2.34): You may see Garcia with his .282 average, two homers and four stolen bases and think the 25-year-old is on an upswing. He did steal 37 bases last year as well. However, Garcia is not the most-disciplined player. Garcia has a career .253 average with a .304 OBP because he doesn't walk a ton. Also, he's been caught stealing five times this year, tied for most in MLB. All in all, he doesn't seem to be a player taking a step forward.
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