MLB.com Says These MLBbros Could Go 40-40 This Season | It’s Only Been Done By Four Players…Ever

MLB.com Says These MLBbros Could Go 40-40 This Season | It’s Only Been Done By Four Players…Ever

by | Feb 6, 2023 | THE TWO HOLE

MLB.com recently released a list of nine MLB players with the best chance to have a 40-40 season. The list of players with the rare combination of speed and power qualified to make this list is very exclusive. There are only four players in the history of MLB who have posted 40-40 seasons: Jose Canseco in 1988, Barry Bonds in 1996, Alex Rodriguez in 1998 and Alfonso Soriano in 2006. 

This is a category for the most dynamic and gifted players. Barry Bonds is the only player in history with 500 career homers and 500 steals. That’s all you need to know about how hard it is for players to consistently combine elite power and speed on a nightly basis over 162 games. The way the game has changed with the influx of metrics-based team construction and game strategy, it’s not shocking that it’s been 17 years since a player was able to execute those two lethal skills sets at such a high level.

Of the nine players that MLB.com reporter Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) deemed capable of going 40-40 in 2023, three of them were MLBbros. 

Michael Harris II

Money Mike Harris is the reigning NL Rookie of the Year and for good reason. The crown jewel of MLB’s developmental programs fell one homer shy of a 20-20 season in just 114 games. The Atlanta Braves star hit 19 homers and stole 20 bases. 

 

(David Grubb)

 

His sprint speed ranks in the 95th percentile. 30-30 is probably a more reasonable projection for Harris, whose power is still developing, but with the effects of MLB’s various rule changes on the game still unproven, it’s not farfetched to project that with a full season under his belt, Harris could approach the 40-40 mark. 

 

Jazz Chisholm 

 

With the dynamic Marlins infielder being moved to centerfield, he will have less responsibility and more time to focus on his potentially explosive offensive game. The Bahamian Blur has some of the quickest hands in the game and stands in some exclusive company for taking a Jacob DeGrom 100 mph fastball into orbit. 

 

 

And you already know the poetic mayhem he causes with his legs on the basepaths. He’s truly a special player who has only scratched the surface of his potential. Chisholm was a dynamic and versatile infielder who can play both middle positions. As an outfielder he is sure to make some dynamic plays that will make the MLB Network highlights on a regular basic. 

Chisholm has only played 205 career games in three seasons. In his official rookie season in 2021, Jazz had 18 homers and 23 steals in 124 games. He was an All-Star before being injured last season and still had 14 bombs in in 60 games. If he can play 150 games he would definitely be in contention for a 30-30 season. If he has a peak season, then 40-40 isn’t a pipe dream. 

 

Cedric Mullins 

 

Mullins already reached the elite 30-30 mark in 2021. His production dipped a bit last season, but the talented centerfielder primed for a huge comeback year surrounded by the most talent he’s ever played with. If you’ve already gone 30-30 when nobody thought you’d even stick around the league, then who’s to say “CM Storm” couldn’t elevate to a 40-40 season in 2023. 

 

 

Baseball is implementing three key new rules this season: pitch clock, shift bans and larger bases. 

(David Grubb)


Larger Bases Leads To More Steals, Doubles, Triples?

 

A three-inch increase in base size from 15 to 18 inches could be significant. According to MLB, “players’ feet are much bigger now than when the bases were designed and this could possibly increase the action on the basepaths (making it easier to steal bases or take the extra base on hits) and to possibly make it easier for players to stay on second and third in close plays instead of having long replays to see if a player barely came off the bag for a split second.” 

“In addition to increasing the entertainment value of the game, the increased base size in the minors has coincided with a decrease in base-related injuries by 13.5 percent.”

We are entering another era of baseball, with some tweaks that don’t change the integrity of the game, but definitely re-infuses those key elements of the game that make MLB exciting and have been lost in recent years, thus diminishing the product.

 

Shouts to MLBbro stolen base kings like Lou Brock and Maury Wills, who we lost during the past few years.