Corbin Carroll Was MLB's Most Valuable Baserunner in 2024

The D-backs' speedy outfielder was MLB's top baserunner this past season, ahead of names like Shohei Ohtani and Elly De La Cruz.

Aug 13, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll (7) runs to third base en route to a triple against the Colorado Rockies during the ninth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Arizona Diamondbacks young outfield sensation Corbin Carroll was a heavy topic of discussion through the 2024 season, though perhaps for less-than-positive reasons initially.

The unanimous 2023 NL Rookie of the Year experienced a deep slump for the first portion of 2024, struggling to make hard contact and hitting just .192 as late as June 5.

Thankfully, Carroll was able to find his swing and his pop again, and raked his way to an eventual .750 OPS and 22 homers--a near-miraculous turnaround.

But despite his inconsistent bat and struggles at the plate, Carroll's most valuable tool was on full display: his exceptional speed and ability to create chaos on the basepaths.

Baseball Savant, with data from Statcast, now has leaderboards for baserunning broken into individual categories for steals and extra bases taken. There is also a Net Bases Gained category, that takes both steals and extra bases taken into consideration, while penalizing players for outs made on the bases.

But Savant's Baserunning Run Value is the more wholesale calculation, that encompasses all ways in which players can add value on the bases, and compiling them into a number that represents the runs added as a result of both steals and extra bases.

While Reds speedy shortstop Elly De La Cruz posted the highest Net Bases Gained (+40) in 2024, and Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani recorded the most runs gained as a result of bases stolen (+7), there was another player who was the most valuable overall baserunner this past season.

According to said Statcast data, and an article from MLB.com, that player was Corbin Carroll.

Carroll posted a +12 overall Baserunning Run Value this past season, the most in MLB, with his 96th percentile sprint speed helping him along.

But it wasn't simply stolen bases that helped Carroll reach this number. While steals are certainly valuable, and Carroll had 35 of them in 2024 (he had 54 in 2023), the majority of his runs created on the bases actually came from his exceptional ability to stretch base hits into extra-base hits.

Carroll only added +4 runs from steals, and was caught eight times. That number is three fewer than Ohtani and two fewer than De La Cruz.

But Carroll added +9 runs worth of extra bases gained to that number, stretching singles into doubles and doubles into triples. In fact, Carroll tied Tony Womack's franchise record for most triples by a Diamondback in a season with 14.

If you're doing the math at home, +4 and +9 add up to +13, not +12. But Carroll did lose -1 run worth of value from holding on extra-base attempts.

Still, Carroll was able to lead MLB in Baserunning Run Value by a wide margin, with Ohtani's +8 being the next closest, tied with Royals infielder Maikel Garcia.

And as a team, the D-backs asserted themselves on the bases, though Carroll was the engine of that basepath chaos. He had triple the Run Value of Arizona's next most valuable baserunner in Jake McCarthy at +4.

But the D-backs' chaotic baserunning still ranked second in total Run Value in 2024 with +17, just one run behind the Milwaukee Brewers.

This came as a result of a dedication to a more power-driven lineup, with sluggers like Joc Pederson and Eugenio Suárez providing a lot of Arizona's runs with their bat rather than their legs.

But when traced back to 2022, the Diamondbacks have consistently blown their competition out of the water in baserunning. In his 2023 season, Carroll also led MLB in Baserunning Run Value with +11, two ahead of Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr.

In fact, since 2022, the D-backs--as a team--have added an astounding +49 runs as a result of their baserunning.

That's not only first in MLB in that time period, but leads the second-place Brewers (+28) by an immense +21 runs. Only five clubs have a +20 or more Run Value in those seasons.

And there's plenty of potential yet to be added on the bases, from the likes of McCarthy, Geraldo Perdomo, Alek Thomas, and perhaps even young players such as Blaze Alexander or Jordan Lawlar.

Regardless, the D-backs have stayed true to their identity of chaos on the bases, and their young star is at the center of it.

If Carroll's bat looks closer to his second-half form in 2025, and his baserunning even mostly maintains its value, Arizona is in for a massively productive season from the speedy outfielder this coming season.