MLB: Who Is the Fastest Player in Baseball?
By Matt Weyrich
As the saying goes, speed kills. Who are the fastest players in MLB?
Every team strives to have that player at the top of their lineup who can be a game changer on the basepaths. Between stealing bases, stretching singles into extra base hits, and going first to third, speed brings value to an offense that other factors simply cannot match.
When you think of who the fastest players in MLB could be, a few names quickly come to mind. The Reds’ Billy Hamilton, who was heralded as the next Rickey Henderson during his ascent through the minor leagues, would probably be your first guess. Perhaps you’d go with the Marlins’ Dee Gordon or Nats rookie sensation Trea Turner, both of whom hit at the top of their lineups as well.
Today’s era of baseball may not compare to the 1980s, when players like Henderson, Tim Raines, Ozzie Smith and Vince Coleman dominated the basepaths. However, there are a large crop of speedsters in the game today that could be in the conversation for fastest player. Every team in the league, aside from maybe the Orioles, boasts at least one of these players on their roster.
So who is the fastest player in the league? Using a combination of the data from MLB’s data tracking program Statcast, advanced metrics from statistical databases like Fangraphs, and a little bit of the good old fashioned eye test, that answer can be deduced like never before. Here are the majors’ top five, starting off with a member of the Senior Circuit who has swiped at least 30 bags in four straight seasons.
Next: No. 5