Revisiting Expected Stolen Bases (xSB)

In 2023, we witnessed the biggest single-season change to league-wide stolen base per game totals in the last 100 years, driven by both stolen base attempt rate (SBA%) increasing by 2.3% (as we define it, from 7.7% in 2022 to 10.0% in 2023) and stolen base success rate (SBS%) increasing by 4.8% (from 75.4% in 2022 to 80.2% in 2023).

In light of this massive shift, we felt compelled to re-evaluate our Expected Stolen Bases (xSB) metric to make sure it still reflects the way the game is now being played.

A bit of history: The original research piece that introduced xSB was focused primarily on separating the "will to steal" from the "skill to steal”. To achieve this objective, we constructed two models for expected stolen base attempt...

Almost!

You’re just a few clicks away from accessing this feature and hundreds more throughout the year that have a singular goal in mind: Winning your league. Subscribe to BaseballHQ.com here!

Already a subscriber? Sign in here

More From R&A Studies

Outmaneuver your competitors by replacing watered-down ADP with detailed draft-level analytics for 12-team and 15-team mixed leagues
Mar 22 2024 12:55pm
The pitching landscape has shifted yet again, and our Pure Quality Start metric undergoes a minor shift to level-set the results.
Dec 20 2023 10:10am
2023 draft-level analytics from dozens of individual NFBC drafts to complete your last-mile preparation
Mar 26 2023 1:00pm
Unveiling six new eye-opening playing time metrics to help fantasy managers accumulate more "volume" by first understanding its sources.
Feb 16 2023 1:07am
Long-awaited follow-up to last year's award-winning "Breaking free from ADP with draft-level analytics" essay with 2022 draft insights.
Apr 1 2022 7:00pm

Tools