Second baseman Jonathan Villar on the O's stolen bases

The Orioles rank 11th in the American League with 54 stolen bases, but they are trending up with that stat after getting six steals the last two games. They are doing a lot better than the 2017 Orioles, who had 32 steals for the year to rank last in the AL, 21 behind the next closest team.

Second baseman Jonathan Villar is happy to lead the charge when it comes to steals. He wants to get some of his own steals and he is very ready, he said, to help his teammates learn the art of the steal.

"We have guys that can run but sometimes they are scared to run," Villar said this afternoon. "I encourage the guys to go. We can change the team into a speed team. Our team right now has more speed, with a lot of fast guys. When I see someone steal a base I feel happy."

In August the Orioles have 16 steals to rank fifth in the American League. And, in a stat that will make manager Buck Showalter pleased, the Orioles rank second in the AL this month in stolen base percentage at 84.2. Since the All-Star break the Orioles have 18 steals to rank sixth in the league.

Villar has stolen 12 straight bases and is 20-for-22 (91 percent) on the year. He went 14-for-16 with Milwaukee and is 6-for-6 with the Orioles. Villar is safe in a higher percentage of attempts this season than he was in 2016 (78 percent) or 2017 (74 percent).

"I'm under more control, and I think about who is catching and who is pitching and in what situation we can run," Villar said about his 91 percent success rate. "What count we can run in. Also, what count the pitcher may throw a changeup or breaking ball, making it easier to steal the base than with a fastball."

Villar is very aware of the stopwatch and times to home plate by pitchers. The slower a pitcher is in his delivery, the easier it can be to steal.

"The coaches give us the times," he said. "Sometimes you see a pitcher that is too quick to the plate and maybe you can't go. Others give more opportunity to get a steal. Coaches tell us if a guy is 1.3 or 1.4 (seconds to home plate). I can run with 1.2, or even with 1.1 I have gone.

"You don't need great speed to steal a base. I saw guys in the minors running a lot but they can't steal. They don't know how to steal. I've seen others with lesser speed, not as fast, but they know how to steal. We need to understand the situations when to run."

In 2016, Villar led the National League with 62 steals. Could he get that many again?

"Yeah. Why not? That is my game. Speed on the bases, and I like to run. That's my game. You can bring energy to the team. When you have speed on the bases, the pitcher may throw more fastballs to the hitter too. It can help the hitters also in seeing more fastballs with a fast guy on first base," he said.