#base-stealing

#base-stealing

The Brewers signed Jacob Hurtubise to a minor league deal earlier this week, according to the outfielder's MLB.com profile page. Hurtubise has been assigned to Triple-A Nashville, and his contract doesn't appear to include an invitation to the Brew Crew's big league spring camp. An undrafted free agent who started his pro career by signing with the Reds in 2020, Hurtubise has appeared in 41 MLB games, all with Cincinnati over the last two seasons.

Taylor, 27, was a tenth-round draft pick by Cleveland in 2016 and spent 2016-22 in the minors with them and the Blue Jays. He reached the Triple-A level in 2022, batting .258/.337/.426 with a 104 wRC+ in 280 plate appearances. He showed solid on-base ability with a 10.0% walk rate and also showed off his speed by stealing 23 bases.

Let's start with this: in 97 games last year, Braiden Ward stole 57 bases and was only caught 7 times. Over the course of his minor league career, he has stolen a total of 211 bases while only being caught 33 times. For reference, David Hamilton stole 185 bases while being caught 32 times in the minors. Ward is one of the fastest men in baseball.