12 Fastest MLB Players of This Year

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The fastest MLB players in Major League Baseball give their team a significant advantage in baserunning and on the field. This listicle will discuss the top 12 fastest baseball players of 2024.  

In MLB, the batters have to run from the first base to the second base. Therefore, the fastest MLB players can run from one base to another quickly.

As a result, the teams score more runs in an innings. Also, since they are the fastest MLB players, there is a higher chance of stealing bases.

Fastest-MLB-PLayer
Fastest MLB Player (Source: The Washington Post)

Teams select batters who can run faster. Batters who can bat more are also worth more money. 

The fastest players are also helpful in the field. They can create more chances to out the batter.

12 Fastest MLB Players of all Time

The players are ranked on their sprinting speed. Since the technology to measure speed keeps getting better, the data may vary.

The data is taken from websites such as At the Buzzer and Basketball reference

S.N. Name Speed (feet/second)
12 Chris Taylor 28.8
11 Chas McCormick 28.8
10 Randy Arozarena 28.8
9 Luke Raley 28.9
8 Gavin Lux 29.1
7 Kevin Kiermaier 29.2
6 Jake Meyers 29.2
5 Jarren Duran 29.3
4 Billy Hamilton 29.5
3 Adam Engel 29.7
2 Jose Siri 30.4
1 Trea Turner 30.7

12. Chris Taylor

The Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder, Chris Taylor, is one of the fastest players in the MLB. His highest speed was clocked at around 28.8 feet per second.

In 2021, he was selected for the All-Star games. In his MLB career, he has scored 377 runs with a batting average of .254.

Chris Taylor ready for batting.
Chris Taylor is ready for batting (Source: Wikimedia.com)

Throughout his career, he has hit 79 home runs. Plus, he has an RBI of 309. Additionally, Chris Taylor has stolen 58 bases.

He has 15.1 games in Wins Above Replacement. In 2020, he was a part of the World Series-winning team.

11. Chas McCormick 

Another MLB player to clock at the speed of 28.8 feet per second is Chas McCormick. He made his debut for Houston Astros in 2021.

Even though it’s his first season, he’s fast. Currently, he plays as an outfielder for the Astros.

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Chas McCormick (Source: USA Today)

Though he is fast, he hasn’t been able to maintain his speed consistently. He didn’t clock the 30 feet per second speed even once during the season.

But, this is his first season, and hopefully, he will be a better player as he plays more games.

In 2021 alone, he scored 47 runs with 50 RBI and 14 home runs. Currently, he has a Win Above Replacement of 2.3 games.

10. Randy Arozarena

The list of the fastest MLB player is incredibly close. So, another player to clock at the same speed is Randy Arozarena.

Randy Arozarena also clocked at the speed of 28.8 feet per second. Currently, he plays for the Tampa Bay Rays.

He has a batting average of .274 while hitting 20 home runs. In 2021 alone, he hit 94 runs with 69 RBI.

Randy-Arozarena-fastest-MLB-Player
Randy Arozarena (Source: USA Today)

In 2021, he had 4.1 games in Wins Above Replacement. Also, in 2020 he won the Most Valuable Player award.

In the same year, he had a batting average of .321 along with OPS of 1.152. Apart from that, he also hit 4 home runs in 2020.

His skills, along with his speed, make him a precious player.

9. Luke Raley

The players in MLB are fitter than ever. That’s why there is very little difference in speed among the players.

Luke Raley clocks at 28.9 feet per second. There’s a difference of just 0.1 feet per second. So, in the view of the average viewer, they have about the same speed.

Raley made his debut in 2021 for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a single season, he hit 2 home runs.

Luke-Raley-the-Fastest-MLB-Player-top12-top10
Luke Raley (Source: The Athletic)

His batting average is .182. The worrying aspect is his Wins Above Replacement ratio, which is negative.

However, this was just his first season, and he played a few games. Previously, he played in minor leagues for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins.

Hopefully, Luke will improve his game and become a better player.

8. Gavin Lux

Most of the fastest players on the list are the outfielders. They should be able to catch the high balls, so they should be faster.

Gavin Lux is yet another outfielder who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He made his debut with the Dodgers in 2019.

Gavin-Lux-the-fastest-MLB-Player-top-12-top-10
Gavin Lux (Sports Illustrated)

Gavin is 6 feet 2 inches tall with a weight of 190 pounds. He likes to work out on his fitness and, therefore, can maintain his speed.

Since then, he has hit 12 home runs and scored 69 runs. In 2021, he hit 49 runs with an average of .242. Additionally, he has Wins Above Replacement of 1.6 games.

His best batting average in a single season is .242. However, his highest OPS was in 2019.

Read more about the 13 Biggest MLB Players Till Now.

7. Kevin Kiermaier

All the players till now on this list were under 25. Mostly, they were playing their first season.

Since they were young, it was easy to maintain their speed. Kevin Keirmaier is in his thirties. Currently, he is 27 years old. In his career, he has hit 75 home runs. 

Kevin MLB (Source: Wikimedia.com)

In 2021 alone, Kevin batted at an average of .259 while hitting 54 runs. Plus, he had an RBI of 37 while stealing 9 bases.

Similarly, his Wins Above Replacement is 3.4 games. All of these attributes make him a precious player.

His awards include the Gold Glove award, which he won three times in 2015, 2016, and 2019. He is going strong despite suffering from two different injuries.

It will be interesting to see how he manages to keep his form going forward.

6. Jake Meyers

Clocking at the same speed of 29.2 feet per second is Jake Meyers. Meyers currently plays for the Houston Astros.

He is currently in his mid-twenties. In August 2021, he played his first game for the Astros.

Meyers plays at the position of an outfielder. In 2021, he played 49 games for his team.

Jake_Meyers
Jake Meyers (Source: Wikipedia)

The batting average of Meyers is .260. During the season, he hit 22 runs with an RBI of 28. Apart from that, he managed to steal 3 bases. 

During his college years, he played as both a pitcher and an outfielder. Later, during the minor league, he shifted his focus toward the outfielder position.

It will be interesting to see if he improves his speed in the upcoming seasons. In baseball, the players sprinting more than 30 feet per second are looked at differently.

If he manages to reach the mark, then he will have a long career.

5. Jarren Duran

Yet another debutant on this list is Jarren Duran. Duran currently plays for the Boston Red Sox.

Apart from that, he is also the fastest player for the Red Sox. Even his home-to-first base speed is incredible.

He reaches the home base on average in 4.17 seconds. This means that the opponents will have less chance to get him out.

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Jarren Duran (Source: Sox Prospects News)

Despite this, he has a dismal .215 batting average. He played thirty-three games for his team.

Read more about the Top 12 Best MLB Stadiums.

During these games, he scored only 17 runs with an RBI of 10. Additionally, he managed to steal only 2 bases.

His Wins Above Replacement is also at -0.7 games. All of these indicate that he will have to improve his game next year.

Duran showed a lot of potential during the Minor leagues. He was included in the top 200 prospects list published by Baseball America.

He has to tap into that form to get his mojo back in the league.

4. Billy Hamilton

Another experienced player on this list is Billy Hamilton. Apart from that, he is also a Centerfielder.

Billy made his debut in 2013 for the Cincinnati Reds. Since then, he has played for Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Mets, Chicago Cubs, and Chicago White Sox.

In his career, he has a batting average of .240. Similarly, he has hit 24 home runs while stealing 314 bases.

Billy-Hamilton-fastest-baseball-player
Billy Hamilton made his MLB debut with the Cincinnati Reds (Source: Pinterest)

In 2021, he batted at an average of .220 while scoring 23 runs. Additionally, he stole 9 bases and hit 2 home runs.

However, his Wins Above Replacement was at 0.4 games only. From 2014 to 2019, he stole a lot of bases. But since 2019, he has not reached double digits in stealing bases.

In June 2014, he was named the Rookie of the Month. During high school, he was very good at football. However, he declined an offer to play football for the MLB.

3. Adam Engel

The third-fastest player on the list of faster MLB players is Adam Engel. Adam currently plays for the Chicago White Sox.

The Chicago White Sox enrolled him in 2013. He made his debut from the White Sox in 2017.

Since then, he has made 106 runs while batting at an average of .225. Also, during this period, he hit 28 home runs.

Adam-Engel-fastest-MLB-Player
Adam Engel (Source: Southside Showdown)

In 2021 alone, he batted at an average of .252 while hitting 7 home runs. Additionally, he stole 7 bases.

His Wins Above Replacement is 1.6 games. This season he played 39 games for his team.

In 2021, he also suffered from a hamstring injury. As a result, he had to take a rest for the majority of the season.

Sadly, he missed the 30 feet per second mark by just 0.3 feet per second.

2. Jose Siri

The first player on this list of fastest MLB players this year to cross the mark of 30 feet per second is Jose Siri.

Jose clocked at the speed of 30.4 feet per second. It’s even more incredible that he managed this speed during his first year in the MLB.

Jose-Siri-the-fastest-MLB-Player-in-2022
Jose Siri (Source: Facebook)

In 2012, he signed with the Cincinnati Reds. But almost a decade later, he made his MLB debut for the Houston Astros. Currently, he has a batting average of .304.

In 2021 alone, he made 10 runs with an RBI 0f 9. Additionally, he hit 4 home runs in the 21 games he played.

Currently, he is the fastest player in the Astros.

1. Trea Turner

The current fastest player in the MLB is Trea Turner. Turner currently plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He made his debut for the Washington Nationals in 2015. Turner shifted to the Dodgers in 2021. 

In his illustrious career, he has an average of .303 while hitting 103 home runs. Additionally, he has 334 RBI and has stolen 203 bases.

Trea-Turner-the-fastest-MLB-baserunner-of-the-2024-top-10-top12
Trea Turner (Source: Wikimedia.com)
He was part of the World-Series winning team in 2019. Apart from that, he was the stolen base leader in 2018 and 2021.

In 2017, 2019, and 2021 he hit the cycle. He was included in the All-Star game for the first time in 2021.

In 2021 alone, he hit 107 runs with an average of .328 with 28 home runs and 32 stolen bases.

Conclusion

Did we miss any fastest players? Who is your favorite player on the list? Feel free to write about your favorite player.

Read more about Jackson Rutledge: Ranking, Draft, Salary & MLB.

Sanjib Sah
Sanjib Sah
Sanjib Sah is an engineer and content writer passionate about sports and athletics. With a background in engineering and a love for all things active, Sanjib brings a unique perspective to the world of sports writing. Whether he is covering the latest trends in sports technology or sharing tips on improving your game, Sanjib's words are always rooted in a deep appreciation for players' hard work and dedication everywhere. In his free time, you can find him hitting the courts or hitting the trails, always looking for new ways to challenge himself and improve his skills.

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Comments

  1. Bader and edman. Are they just better a timing stealing bases. They are also difficult to double up and beat out infield hits.

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