For the last twenty years, baseball was obsessed with one thing: hitting the ball 450 feet into the upper deck. While home runs are great, the game was getting slow. Very slow.
So, MLB changed the rules. They made the bases bigger, they added a pitch clock, and they limited how many times a pitcher could throw over to first base. The result? Pure, unadulterated chaos on the basepaths.
The stolen base is officially back, and a new breed of speed demon has taken over the sport. These guys don’t just run; they sprint with malicious intent. They turn walks into doubles, force catchers into panicked throwing errors, and make pitchers so anxious they forget how to throw strikes.
Let’s rank the absolute menaces who spent the 2024 season terrorizing defenses and swiping bags left and right.
MLB's Speed Demons!
- 1st: Elly De La Cruz - 67 Steals
- 2nd: Shohei Ohtani - 59 Steals
- 3rd: Brice Turang - 50 Steals
- 4th: Jose Caballero - 44 Steals
- 5th: José Ramírez - 41 Steals
- 6th: Jazz Chisholm Jr. - 40 Steals
- 7th: Maikel Garcia - 37 Steals
- 8th: Corbin Carroll - 35 Steals
- T-9th: Jarren Duran - 34 Steals
- T-9th: Víctor Robles - 34 Steals
T-9th: Víctor Robles - 34 Steals
Sometimes, a guy just desperately needs a change of scenery. Víctor Robles went from struggling with the Nationals to suddenly looking like Rickey Henderson after being traded to the Seattle Mariners.
What is wild about Robles is that he swiped 34 bags and was only caught twice. You don’t get numbers like that just by running fast; you get them by having elite baseball IQ and knowing exactly when the pitcher is sleeping. The Mariners got an absolute steal (pun totally intended).
T-9th: Jarren Duran - 34 Steals
Jarren Duran is basically a human energy drink for the Boston Red Sox. When he gets on base, the entire stadium knows he is going.
He is the perfect modern leadoff hitter. He routinely turns line drives into doubles, and his 34 stolen bases mean he is almost always in scoring position for the guys hitting behind him. He plays the game at 100 mph, and opposing catchers absolutely hate dealing with him.
8th: Corbin Carroll - 35 Steals
Corbin Carroll didn't just win Rookie of the Year in 2023; he legitimately carried the Diamondbacks to the World Series. He proved the hype was entirely real by coming right back in 2024 and stealing another 35 bags.
Carroll's speed is a psychological weapon. Pitchers spend so much time looking over their shoulder at him on first base that they inevitably throw an 88 mph garbage fastball down the middle to the next hitter. He creates absolute havoc.
7th: Maikel Garcia - 37 Steals
If you want flash, go look at Elly De La Cruz. If you want pure, boring, deadly efficiency, look at Kansas City's Maikel Garcia.
Garcia stole 37 bases and was caught exactly two times. That is an absurd success rate. He doesn't take crazy risks; he just meticulously studies the pitcher's delivery, gets the perfect jump, and glides into the base easily. He is quietly one of the best baserunners in the sport.
6th: Jazz Chisholm Jr. - 40 Steals
Jazz Chisholm Jr. was basically built in a lab to play in New York. The flashy chains, the swagger, the power, and the blinding speed—he brought all of it to the Yankees and became an instant fan favorite.
The Yankees are traditionally a team of massive guys who walk and hit home runs. Chisholm drastically changed their dynamic. Stealing 40 bases means he isn't just relying on his power; he drops bunts, beats out singles, and aggressively steals bags in late, high-pressure innings.
5th: José Ramírez - 41 Steals
José Ramírez is 31 years old. He has the build of a very dense fire hydrant. Yet here he is, swiping 41 bags and vastly outrunning guys a decade younger than him.
"J-Ram" remains the most criminally underrated player in baseball. He hits home runs, plays elite defense at third base, and his baserunning relies on pure grit and ridiculously high baseball intelligence. He carries the Cleveland Guardians offense on his back.
4th: Jose Caballero - 44 Steals
The Tampa Bay Rays have a very specific team philosophy: create maximum chaos at all times and do not be afraid of getting thrown out. Jose Caballero is the poster child for this strategy.
With 44 steals and 16 times caught, Caballero’s numbers are chaotic. He is going to run regardless of the situation. It puts massive pressure on the catcher to execute a perfect throw every single time. Sometimes he looks foolish, but more often than not, it manufactures a run out of thin air.
3rd: Brice Turang - 50 Steals
If you aren't paying attention to the Milwaukee Brewers, you missed Brice Turang quietly putting on a baserunning clinic all season long. Hitting the 50-steal milestone is elite territory.
Turang is the exact profile of a classic leadoff hitter. He gets on base via a walk or a single, instantly steals second, and forces the opposing pitcher into a stressful situation with no outs. He is the spark plug for a very dangerous Brewers lineup.
2nd: Shohei Ohtani - 59 Steals
Are you kidding me? Shohei Ohtani decides he can't pitch for a year, so he casually decides to become the second-best base stealer in the sport while also hitting 50+ home runs?
What is deeply offensive about Ohtani's 59 steals is that he was caught only 4 times. He is 6-foot-4, built like a linebacker, and he is outrunning every middle infielder in the league. It is actually laughable how much better he is at baseball than everyone else on earth. The 50/50 club belongs to him alone.
1st: Elly De La Cruz - 67 Steals
There is fast, and then there is Elly De La Cruz. The Cincinnati Reds phenom is a human cheat code. He doesn't just steal bases; he physically abuses the concept of geometry with his stride length.
When Elly gets on first, the 67 steals don't even tell the whole story. He steals bags when the pitcher literally has him picked off. He stretches routine singles into doubles. He is electric, deeply arrogant on the basepaths, and almost entirely unstoppable. The absolute King of Speed in 2024.
