Corbin Carroll is the best baserunner in baseball, according to Statcast’s newest metrics
Dec 16, 2024, 5:40 PM
No player in Major League Baseball has been a more effective baserunner over the past two seasons than Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll, according to new metrics released by Statcast on Monday.
Statcast’s new baserunning run value metric — which measures steals and extra bases taken — not only has Carroll leading MLB for 2024 but also 2023 as the NL Rookie of the Year.
Carroll is worth 24 baserunning runs since the start of 2023, nine ahead of second-place Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds.
2024’s best all-around baserunner, per new Statcast metrics up today on Baseball Savant, which combine SB/CS and extra bases taken:
Corbin Carroll: +12 Baserunning Run Value pic.twitter.com/ggS8wt0Q4P
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) December 16, 2024
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He leads MLB in with 13 runs via extra bases taken (non-steal plays when an extra base was taken) and 10 runs via stolen bases (run value from stolen bases) in that stretch.
The eye test backs up the notion that Carroll is an elite baserunner not only for his outrageous speed but how he uses it to take extra bases. When he is on first base, a single will usually get him to at least third and anything in the gap is a run.
He turned a routine ground ball up the middle into three bases on a bobble against the Washington Nationals over the summer. He later scored standing up on an inside-the-park home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers to cap August.
An inside-the-park answerback from Corbin Carroll 🏃♂️ pic.twitter.com/IzcKVG2kfC
— MLB (@MLB) September 1, 2024
How did Corbin Carroll impacts games on the bases?
Carroll led MLB with 35 bases taken on fly balls, passed balls, wild pitches, balks and defensive indifference to go along with 35 steals this past season, according to Baseball Reference.
In extra bases taken percentage (the rate a runner takes more than one base on a single or more than two on a double when possible), Carroll’s 60% finished seventh in MLB.
He was not the most aggressive base stealer in the sport last year — De La Cruz owns that distinction and paced the league with 67 steals — but he created scoring chances for his teammates with his ability to get 90 feet further consistently.
Carroll had to battle through a difficult first three months last season, which he successfully climbed out of with a terrific second half (.919 OPS). From July 1 on, he was a runs machine, scoring 74 times for the league’s highest-scoring offense.
No one else in baseball scored that many runs in that stretch, with Shohei Ohtani next on the ladder with 67. Leading the league with 14 triples helps with that, as does working with highly respected first base coach Dave McKay.
Carroll also stole 21 bases over the final three months, tied for eighth in MLB after some dry spells early on.
A faster start to the 2025 season would create more opportunities on the bases for the 24-year-old to increase his top-tier baserunning value even higher. He stole 54 bases in 2023.
