The Combo Meal Strategy

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  • By Anthony Kates

    A “combo meal”, in fantasy parlance, is when a player hits a home run and steals a base in the same game. I am broadening the term a bit for the strategy, to refer to players who hit 15-plus home runs and stole 15-plus bases in the same season. 70 players stole 15-plus bases in 2025 and 115 hit 15-plus home runs.

    Only 43 players did both. 21 infielders reach the mark, with three falling one stolen base short. 20 outfielders hit the threshold, with one falling one home run short and two falling a stolen base shy. One catcher hit both stats. And then, of course, Shohei Ohtani did so as a designated hitter.

    The goal is to draft as many of them as possible, to set your team up for the most success.

    Number of 15-15 players (2025 stats) by round (ADP based on NFBC OC drafts from Jan 22-Feb 11):

    1: 7 (Ohtani, Witt, Soto, Elly De La Cruz, J. Ramirez, Carroll, J. Rodriguez)

    2: 6 (G. Henderson, K. Tucker, Tatis, Lindor, Chourio, Chisholm Jr.)

    3: 4 (Neto, Crow-Armstrong, T. Turner, J. Wood)

    4: 1 (Langford)

    5: 2 (Turang, Abrams)

    6: 5 (J. Naylor, Buxton, M. Garcia, Buxton, Duran)

    7: 2 (Agustin Ramirez, Perdomo)

    8: 3 (Oneil Cruz, Arozarena, J. Pena)

    9: 3 (Story, Harris, Springer)

    10: 0

    11-15: 5 (Yelich, Rafaela, Butler, Swanson, Doyle)

    16-20: 3 (Matt McLain, Otto Lopez, Jordan Beck)

    The final 2: Cedric Mullins (ADP 316), Anthony Volpe (ADP 358)

    I expect some of these players to fall short this season: Josh Naylor (falls short on steals; odds of 15-plus again are very low), Maikel Garcia (falls short on home runs; one home run over final 108 PA; only one month with more than three), Geraldo Perdomo (falls short on home runs; statcast numbers do not translate to enough power), Christian Yelich (falls shorts on stolen bases; only four attempts over final 271 PA),  Trevor Story (health; he’s only had a 15-15 season four times; 500-plus PA twice in last five seasons), Otto Lopez (falls short on homers; his 2025 total is unsupported by statcast and his previous output).


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    February 13, 2026, 9:40 am