When it comes to stolen bases, the desire to steal them is the most important factor. Last season, Juan Soto, Josh Naylor and Cal Raleigh all stole double-digit bases after never coming close in previous seasons. Today, I'm going to try to find some "slow" batters who seem to think they can also steal bases.
To find potential runners, I took all the batters with at least 20 plate appearances and four steals this spring. The list is long, but I'm trying to find regular hitters improving, not minor-leaguers showing off. Here is the list:
| Name | Team | PA | SB | CS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braiden Ward | BOS | 47 | 18 | 2 | 20 |
| Jared Oliva | SFG | 37 | 12 | 1 | 13 |
| James Outman | MIN | 43 | 7 | 1 | 8 |
| Bryce Teodosio | LAA | 42 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| Pedro Ramirez | CHC | 35 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Jake McCarthy | COL | 46 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| Jase Bowen | SDP | 48 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Oswald Peraza | LAA | 44 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Victor Scott II | STL | 39 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Brice Matthews | HOU | 37 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Zach Cole | HOU | 41 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Matt Shaw | CHC | 44 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Dru Baker | CHW | 30 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Maximo Acosta | MIA | 23 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Hyeseong Kim | LAD | 24 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Bryce Johnson | SDP | 45 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Michael Harris II | ATL | 32 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Andruw Monasterio | BOS | 37 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Scott Kingery | CHC | 46 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Esteury Ruiz | MIA | 40 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Korey Lee | CHW | 42 | 4 | 1 |
When it comes to stolen bases, the desire to steal them is the most important factor. Last season, Juan Soto, Josh Naylor and Cal Raleigh all stole double-digit bases after never coming close in previous seasons. Today, I'm going to try to find some "slow" batters who seem to think they can also steal bases.
To find potential runners, I took all the batters with at least 20 plate appearances and four steals this spring. The list is long, but I'm trying to find regular hitters improving, not minor-leaguers showing off. Here is the list:
Overall, no studs who have suddenly decided to run are on the list. Even with no marque names, however, there are a few interesting players. Here are my thoughts on some of them.
Jake McCarthy, Esteury Ruiz, Victor Scott II, Ceddanne Rafaela, Xavier Edwards, Jose Ramirez: Speedsters who have run in the past and will continue to run in 2026.
Braiden Ward: The 27-year-old has been on fire in Spring Training (.368/.489/.421) to go with his 18 stolen bases. He pulled off a near-perfect Chandler Simpson imitation last year in the minors with 57 steals, a .290 average and just two home runs. A few times, he was at the bottom of prospect lists, but he is a non-factor, at least for now.
Jared Oliva: The 30-year-old has 59 major-league plate appearances, but the last time he played in the majors was in 2021 with the Pirates. In Triple-A last season, he stole 57 bases while hitting 11 home runs. While he easily has the second most spring training stolen bases (12), he's not guaranteed playing time.
James Outman: Now with the Twins, Outman is trying to win an outfield job as a strong-side platoon bat. The problem is that the team has several players of this archetype. Managers can take a late dart on him and hope for a repeat of 2023, when he hit 23 homers with 16 stolen bases.
Bryce Teodosio: While Teodosio can run and play defense, he can't hit fastballs. His strikeouts are down this spring training, but he still has a 26 percent swinging strike rate against four-seamers and a 25 percent swinging strike rate against sinkers.
Oswald Peraza: As I write this, Peraza is still fighting for a roster spot while batting .341/.386/.634 with two homers and five steals. He's battling Yoan Moncada and Adam Frazier for reps at second and third base. He struggles against left-handed pitching (with a career .404 OPS against southpaws), so he'll likely end up in a platoon. He's young enough to turn his career around, so monitor his playing time.
Michael Harris II: Harris has never attempted more than four stolen bases in a previous spring training, but he already has five steals this spring. The whole Braves team might be running more with the addition of the Mets' former baserunning coach Antoan Richardson.
Chase Meidroth: While Meidroth is attempting to steal more bases, the rest of his profile leaves something to be desired. He's never had much power, and this spring he raised his launch angle to 21 degrees. That level of lift is for sluggers. Even with all that air, he still hasn't barrelled one ball this spring.
Nasim Nunez: In 92 plate appearances last season, Nunez stole nine bases and even hit four home runs. While he isn't the best hitter, he has almost no competition for playing time in Washington especially since he's a plus defender. The upside here is 10 homers and 60 steals.
Jake Bauers: Bauers has been a sneaky source of stolen bases when he plays. For his career, he is on pace for 12 steals per 600 plate appearances. Now he needs to find a way to get into the lineup every day.
Sal Stewart: Stewart stole bases while coming through the minors (14 in 2024, 17 in 2025), but had none last season in 58 major-league plate appearances. He's back to stealing bases this spring. Projections have him for 10 steals or fewer, but there's a solid chance he could steal 20.
