We are closing in on the All-Star Break, and the leaders in some statistical categories are taking shape. This presents a picture we can look at to find somewhere that makes sense to place a wager via the MLB odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Today, let's dig into the market for who will have the most stolen bases in the league in the regular season, per the MLB player specials betting odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

It's a two-man race at this point, with only two players carrying odds shorter than +2000

Here are the two leading candidates:

Esteury Ruiz, OF, Oakland Athletics

There hasn't been much to cheer about for fans of the Oakland Athletics this season. One of the bright spots is rookie Esteury Ruiz.

Ruiz may be in his first big-league season, but stealing bases is nothing new for him. He was swiping bags throughout his minor-league career. In 84 games at Double-A in 2021, he stole 36 bases. Last year, he swiped 86 bases across three different levels.

He hasn't had any trouble stealing bases at the MLB level. He's been successful on 39 of 46 attempts, good for a 84.8% success rate. The A's don't exactly have a ton to play for, so letting Ruiz run a lot could continue to be part of their game plan.

The case against Ruiz leading the league in steals would be that he doesn't get on base a ton. So far, he's sporting just a .327 on-base percentage (OBP). He does bat leadoff, so he will get a lot of opportunities, but getting some more walks would help, as he has walked in just 4.0% of his plate appearances.

The -165 odds suggest that this shouldn't be too big of a problem, but he isn't a runaway favorite.

Ronald Acuna Jr., OF, Atlanta Braves

Ronald Acuna has always been a prolific base-stealer, but it looks like he will set a career-high in steals this season.

Acuna's previous career-high was 37 back in 2019. COVID and his torn ACL in 2021 impacted his steals over the next few seasons after that, but he was able to get up to 29 swipes last season in 119 games.

The larger bases seem to be benefitting Acuna. He's already exceeded his 2022 total on fewer attempts, notching 31 steals, and has been caught just six times.

He certainly doesn't have the issue of getting on base that Ruiz does, as his OBP is .406. Like Ruiz, he bats leadoff, but he plays in a better lineup. The advantage of this is getting more plate appearances, on the flip side, he doesn't need to steal bases to create offense for the Atlanta Braves.

Acuna currently trails Ruiz by eight steals, so it would take a lot for him to catch up. If he has personal goals -- such as winning the MVP, which he is the frontrunner to do -- going for a few extra steals might be able to get him over the top.

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