\n\tFor years, the Minnesota Twins have largely played a station-to-station brand of baseball. They\u2019ve relied on power, damage in the gaps, and waiting for the big swing. The Twins have never really built their game around stealing bases; it\u2019s always been more of an afterthought.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThat could change in 2026.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tWith Derek Shelton<\/a> stepping in as manager, there\u2019s real reason to believe the Twins are going to force the issue more on the basepaths. Shelton has a reputation for being more aggressive than most managers, and he hasn\u2019t exactly hidden his intentions for the upcoming season.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think the first thing is, I\u2019m going to build off what happened in September,\u201d Shelton told reporters in the early days of camp. \u201cI really like what happened in September. Ultra-aggressive on the bases. Started to push the envelope a little bit. I think we have to continue on that. That\u2019s proven to be good.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s a very clear directive: continue what worked, and put pressure on opponents. So, who can you expect to be aggressive on the basepaths this year?\n<\/p>\n \n\tThere are a couple of very safe bets to start with, beginning with Byron Buxton<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWe\u2019ve known about Buxton\u2019s speed for over a decade. Even as injuries have forced adjustments to his game, the speed has never disappeared. Last season, he stole 24 bases without being thrown out once. That\u2019s elite efficiency, and efficiency is what earns a consistent green light.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIf Buxton is healthy, he\u2019s going to run. It\u2019s that simple. And hitting near the top of the lineup means more chances to turn a walk or single into immediate scoring position. Shelton\u2019s philosophy, paired with Buxton\u2019s track record, feels like a natural match.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThen there\u2019s Luke Keaschall<\/a>, who might have the most upside in this entire conversation.\n<\/p>\n \n\tKeaschall stole 14 bases in 49 MLB games last season. He added 11 more in just 28 games at Triple-A before his call-up. The speed translated instantly, but more importantly, the aggressiveness did too. He wasn\u2019t waiting around to see how the league would adjust; he was forcing the issue.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHere\u2019s what really stands out: Keaschall has played exactly 162 minor league games in his pro career. In those 162 games, he stole 45 bases on 53 attempts. That\u2019s an 85% success rate over what amounts to a full season. You don\u2019t have to project anything \u2013 he\u2019s already shown he can maintain that pace over time.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe Twins haven\u2019t had a player steal 40 bases in a season since Ben Revere<\/a> did it in 2012. Keaschall is the type of player who could end that drought. If he and Buxton are batting one-two, expect movement, and expect action. That alone changes how opposing pitchers operate from the first inning on.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe potential uptick doesn\u2019t stop there, though. The next name, however, comes with a major caveat: Royce Lewis<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\tLewis has never been a high-volume base stealer in the majors. From 2022 through 2024, he stole just six total bases. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he swiped nine just in the month of September.\n<\/p>\n \n\tFor his career, he\u2019s 18-for-21 in stolen base attempts. That tells you he\u2019s capable. The instincts are there, and his athleticism is obvious. The question isn\u2019t whether he can run, it\u2019s whether he\u2019ll be healthy enough to attempt it consistently.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019ll be the tricky part. Staying in the lineup doesn\u2019t automatically mean he\u2019s physically able to explode out of a lead and slide aggressively into second. If he\u2019s fully healthy, Shelton could absolutely encourage more attempts. But that hinges on durability.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAnother intriguing piece is Austin Martin<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\tMartin isn\u2019t likely to be an everyday player, and is not even a lock for the Opening Day roster, but he\u2019s one of the better pure athletes in the team’s mix. He stole 11 bases in 50 MLB games last year. Earlier in his minor league career, he swiped 35 bases in 2022, followed by 19 in 2023 and 15 in 2024 before totaling 14 between the minors and majors last season.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe attempts have dipped, which likely reflects role more than ability. If he\u2019s used as a platoon option against lefties or as a late-game pinch-runner, Shelton could weaponize him situationally. That\u2019s where aggression can show up in smaller, but meaningful, bursts.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAnd then there\u2019s the pipeline.\n<\/p>\n \n\tEmmanuel Rodriguez<\/a> stole 10 bases in 65 games last season and could see time in the majors this year. Walker Jenkins<\/a> has the athleticism to contribute on the bases when he arrives. Kaelen Culpepper<\/a> stole 25 bases on 29 attempts in the minors last season.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe larger point is this: the roster will have some speed. It\u2019s just a matter of philosophy.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe Twins haven\u2019t been a high-volume stolen base team in recent years. Even when they\u2019ve had individual speed threats, the overall approach has leaned conservative. That\u2019s not necessarily wrong. But in today\u2019s MLB environment, with rules that favor runners and limit pickoff attempts, being selectively aggressive can create a tangible edge.\n<\/p>\n \n\tEncourage Buxton and Keaschall to run at the top. Mix in opportunistic aggression from Lewis when healthy. Use Martin strategically. Sprinkle in contributions from Rodriguez, Jenkins, or Culpepper as the season unfolds.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIt doesn\u2019t require the Twins to suddenly lead the league in stolen base attempts, as they did after the deadline last year. It just requires them to make pitchers uncomfortable and defenses rushed.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThis feels like the year that could change. Not because the Twins are trying to become the fastest team in baseball, but because the manager and the personnel finally align with a more aggressive style.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For years, the Minnesota Twins have largely played a station-to-station brand of baseball. They\u2019ve relied on power, damage…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586596,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2388],"tags":[4992,5,2223,413,822,60,3190,4,148],"class_list":{"0":"post-586595","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-twins","8":"tag-austin-martin","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-byron-buxton","11":"tag-luke-keaschall","12":"tag-minnesota","13":"tag-minnesota-twins","14":"tag-minnesotatwins","15":"tag-mlb","16":"tag-twins"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116114656012926607","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}