WASHINGTON -- When Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards swiped second early during Friday night’s loss to the Nationals, Miami became the first Major League club this season to have four players steal 20 bases.
It’s only the second time in club history the Marlins have accomplished the feat, with the other instance coming in 2002. And it’s the result of a focused effort to be one of the game’s most dangerous teams on the basepaths, said manager Clayton McCullough.
“[First-base coach] Craig Driver deserves a lot of credit, as well as the players,” McCullough said. “This is something in Spring Training, we put a lot of work in the mornings in preparation for this season, that we were going to weaponize this, and not only have guys that from a speed standpoint that can do this, but also from a technical standpoint.”
All-Star Otto Lopez and utility outfielder Esteury Ruiz have 29 swipes each. Edwards reached the 20 plateau for the third time in his career, and Jakob Marsee swiped his 20th bag earlier this week in his first full MLB season.
And if the Marlins can make a late rally to claim the final NL Wild Card spot, they see that speed tool as potentially critical for postseason play. Miami began Saturday four games behind the Padres for that spot, with the D-backs also three and half games ahead of the Marlins.
“You get to October, and the margins become even smaller than they are in the regular season,” McCullough said. “I would just hope that our group plays in a very similar fashion. You go try to play those games as aggressively [as possible] and use whatever your skills and what [your] best may be that day [to] give you the chance to beat an opponent. And if it's using the running game and trying to create opportunities to steal, I want our guys to feel that that's something that we've been relying on during the regular season. And that shouldn’t change when the stakes are higher.”
Ruiz is easily the most prolific, having swiped an MLB-best 67 bags in his only full MLB season as a regular starter with the Athletics in 2023. The issue was always whether he could hit well enough to be even a platoon option for a contending club, but he’s slashed .236/.361/.422 in 196 plate appearances entering the second of four games in Washington on Saturday.
He could truly be a Jarrod Dyson-type October specialist.
“I consider myself elite in the mental side of base stealing,” Ruiz said through an interpreter. “It’s not just being able to run really fast; it’s understanding the situation and when to go.
Lopez, Ruiz and Edwards are all averaging an 80% or better success rate.
Marsee had a rough 4-for-11 May and has been considerably less active since, as opposing pitchers adjusted to a threat most didn’t expect before the season. But he remains dangerous if given the opportunity, as do a handful of others on a club that is second in the Majors overall behind the Nats (146) in steals with 141 and first in attempts with 183.
“Four guys doing it and potentially more is pretty crazy to see,” Marsee said. “It’s fun to be a part of because we know a lot of guys can make an impact on the bases.”