Sprint Speed.

[stringer bell]

The Twins have used their running game much more in May than in April. They have Willi Castro as their leading base stealer with most of their stolen bases coming from three players--Castro, Byron Buxton and Michael A Taylor--and they've had pretty good success. 

I have noted that the team isn't set up for lots of stolen bases and I still don't think it is. However, with the increased use of Castro and Royce Lewis and Edouard Julien also now on the roster they have two more players who may be counted on to swipe some bases. Lewis hasn't played enough (obviously) to have a measured, but he is reputed to have far above average speed. Here is a listing of Twins' sprint speed according to mlb.com, listing is full speed run either in the field or on the bases:

#22  Buxton  29.3 ft/sec  #53 Castro 28.6  #59 Taylor 28.5  #107  Julien 28.1  #180  Kepler  27.5  #185 Polanco 27.5  #188  Kirilloff  27.5  #197  Gordon  27.4  #231  Correa  27.0  #235  Larnach  27.0  #266  Gallo  26.7  #285  Farmer 26,5  #308  Miranda 26.3  #328 Jeffers 26.1  #369  Solano  25.5  #402 Vázquez 24.7   

27.0 is the average measured speed for all of MLB. 426 players were measured, so Buck, Castro, Taylor and Julien would be in the top quadrant. Of course, there is a lot more to stealing bases than raw speed, but having good speed should make those four plus Lewis a threat. 

 

[ashbury]

Speed is fun to watch, plain and simple, with SB only one aspect.  Not sure we win today's game without Willi's baserunning.  Lack of speed OTOH can be painful to watch, for instance when Julien decided to take two bases while the baserunner ahead of him took only one.  I don't know how much of the other "tools" I'd sacrifice to get an extra increment of speed, but I'd give at least a little.

[tony&rodney]

Wallner is not listed for 2023, but he has improved his 28.4 from 2022 a bit i believe, so there is another guy who can run a little. I think only Buxton can outrun the big guy from Forest Lake.  However, Wallner is raw and still learning all aspects of the game. There is talent there though.

[dex8425]

13 hours ago, stringer bell said:

The Twins have used their running game much more in May than in April. They have Willi Castro as their leading base stealer with most of their stolen bases coming from three players--Castro, Byron Buxton and Michael A Taylor--and they've had pretty good success. 

I have noted that the team isn't set up for lots of stolen bases and I still don't think it is. However, with the increased use of Castro and Royce Lewis and Edouard Julien also now on the roster they have two more players who may be counted on to swFfipe some bases. Lewis hasn't played enough (obviously) to have a measured, but he is reputed to have far above average speed. Here is a listing of Twins' sprint speed according to mlb.com, listing is full speed run either in the field or on the bases:

#22  Buxton  29.3 ft/sec  #53 Castro 28.6  #59 Taylor 28.5  #107  Julien 28.1  #180  Kepler  27.5  #185 Polanco 27.5  #188  Kirilloff  27.5  #197  Gordon  27.4  #231  Correa  27.0  #235  Larnach  27.0  #266  Gallo  26.7  #285  Farmer 26,5  #308  Miranda 26.3  #328 Jeffers 26.1  #369  Solano  25.5  #402 Vázquez 24.7   

27.0 is the average measured speed for all of MLB. 426 players were measured, so Buck, Castro, Taylor and Julien would be in the top quadrant. Of course, there is a lot more to stealing bases than raw speed, but having good speed should make those four plus Lewis a threat. 

 

Of those, I'm most surprised that Julien and AK are above average, and surprised that Nick Gordon grades out as just about average and slower than AK and Julien. 

[danielp19653]

14 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Wallner is not listed for 2023, but he has improved his 28.4 from 2022 a bit i believe, so there is another guy who can run a little. I think only Buxton can outrun the big guy from Forest Lake.  However, Wallner is raw and still learning all aspects of the game. There is talent there though.

Found this over on baseball savant would guess its more SSS than an actual regression but might be a bit hesitant to send him on the basepaths if this is accurate 

[Possumlad]

2 hours ago, dex8425 said:

Of those, I'm most surprised that Julien and AK are above average, and surprised that Nick Gordon grades out as just about average and slower than AK and Julien. 

If Gordon's not fast, what the hell is he doing in the bigs? His (supposed) speed's about his only asset... and the Twins seem to position & play him like he's much faster than he actually is. 

[stringer bell]

1 minute ago, Possumlad said:

If Gordon's not fast, what the hell is he doing in the bigs? His (supposed) speed's about his only asset... and the Twins seem to position & play him like he's much faster than he actually is. 

i don't think so. He had a few stolen bases in his rookie year, but it never felt like he was a game-changing threat on the bases. As far as in the field, his range in the outfield has never seemed that good and he hasn't stood out in the infield either. I was in the stands when he made a really good catch against the Padres this year in a game the Twins ended up winning. I can't recall many other Wow! plays from Gordon wherever he's been positioned. That isn't all about speed, but fast players tend to make more spectacular plays.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Royce, 28.2 sprint speed, ranked 108