The High A and Low A levels of baseball introduced a couple of new rules this season designed to entice base stealing attempts. in High A pitchers must disengage from the rubber before throwing to any base. At the Low A level while pitchers can use the prior pickoff methods they are limited to two “free” pickoffs per plate appearance. If they attempt a third one they must be successful in getting the runner else it’s considered a balk.
impact comparison thus far ...
High A :
2021 High A West League : 54 stolen bases in 69 attempts ( 78 % success rate ) in 12 games - an average of 5.7 per game
2021 High A Central League : 78 stolen bases in 100 attempts in 24 games ( 78 % success rate ) - an average of 4.1 attempts/game
2021 High A East League : 46 stolen bases in 68 attempts in 22 games ( 68 % success rate ) - an average of 3.1 attempts/game
2019 Advanced A California, Carolina and Florida State Leagues Combined : 3,255 stolen bases in 4,845 attempts ( 67 % success rate ) - an average of 2.4 attempts/game
So ... thus far stolen base attempts are averaging much higher than what they were at the Advanced A level in 2019 for this year’s West and Central Leagues and success rates are up as well. In the 2021 East League there’s not as big an impact to date ... cold weather effect maybe 🤔
The Phillies affiliate ( Jersey Shore Blue Claws ) have stolen 7 bases in 8 attempts ... all by four players ( Keaton Greenwalt, Jonathan Guzman, Rudy Rott and Bryson Stott ).
Low A :
2021 Low A West League : 55 stolen bases in 66 attempts ( 83 % success rate ) in 15 games - an average of 4.4 per game
2021 Low A Southeast League : 51 stolen bases in 64 attempts in 20 games ( 80 % success rate ) - an average of 3.2 attempts/game
2021 Low A East League : 52 stolen bases in 61 attempts in 23 games ( 85 % success rate ) - an average of 2.6 attempts/game
2019 A level Midwest and South Atlantic League Combined : 3,461 stolen bases in 5,072 attempts ( 68 % success rate ) - an average of 2.4 attempts/game
In the Low A level success rates are much higher to date as a comparison to 2019 A level play and attempts are way up in the West, slightly in the Southeast and about the same in the East ... again likely related to weather in the early going.
The Phillies affiliate ( Jersey Shore Blue Claws ) have stolen 5 bases in 7 attempts ... by six players ( Luis Garcia, Edgar Made, Hunter Markwardt, Johan Rojas, Casey Martin and Corbin Williams ).
We will keep track as the season progresses ... updates periodically.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
