Who is baseball's premier speedster? MLB players weigh in

The MLB Speedway Classic at the iconic Bristol Motor Speedway is fast approaching (see what we did there?) on Saturday, Aug. 2. It features the Reds and Braves in a regular-season game on the famed NASCAR track.

No, that does not mean Elly De La Cruz will have a foot race on said track against that Braves “Freeze” guy (although we’ve heard worse ideas). But it does mean, in the spirit of the event, there was a fun reason to poll MLB players on the fastest player in the game right now.

This is not the place for strict science. If you want that, check out MLB.com stats analyst Mike Petriello’s piece on this very topic … but just know that, as Mike explains, the answer there isn’t as straightforward as you might assume.

Here, we want to share what the players themselves had to say on the matter, because they have the distinct advantage of observing each other up close.

So here are the results we received when MLB.com’s reporters polled 90 players early this season and asked them, “Who is the fastest player in baseball?”

The checkered flag goes to …

1. Chandler Simpson, OF, Rays, 40 votes

As of this writing, the Rays rookie is “only” tied for sixth in the Majors in sprint speed (29.9 feet per second). But it’s his acceleration out of the box that definitely caught the eyes of his peers.

No runner this season covers more ground than Simpson in his first 1.5 seconds after leaving the batter’s box (33.5 feet on average), and nobody has a faster average time from home to first (3.95 seconds). That’s how he’s able to do really crazy things like, say, BEATING OUT A ROUTINE GROUNDER TO FIRST BASE.

“Being on the same field,” said Astros outfielder Jake Meyers, “his first two steps are different from anyone else.”

Just a couple weeks into his big league career, Simpson had a couple high-profile moments in a series in the Bronx, scoring from second on an infield single and reaching on a straightforward ground ball up the middle that was fielded by the shortstop. Those moments made an impression on our poll participants.

“A routine ground ball, and he beat it out by a stride length,” said Twins pitcher Chris Paddack. “When you watch that play, at game speed, it’s not like the shortstop hesitated or it was a bad hop. Everything looked [normal] … and he was safe … I usually don’t get intimidated with runners on, but when he’s on first, you’re looking a little extra to make sure he’s not just going to walk into second.”

Simpson has even had eye-catching outs. Like when he was just barely nabbed in May on a bouncer up the middle that Blue Jays second baseman Ernie Clement smoothly nabbed.

“I barehanded that and he still almost beat it?” Clement said in voting for Simpson. “He’s so fast.”

But in terms of sprint speed, the fastest player in MLB is …

2. Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals, 17 votes

This is a man without a restrictor plate. While Simpson is exciting, no doubt, he objectively doesn’t have Witt’s more lengthy track record in putting that speed to use.

Witt has established himself as a human extra-base hit machine (third in MLB over the last three seasons behind only Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge in that category, as of this writing) with intelligent instincts on the basepaths (second in steals only to De La Cruz in that same timeframe), he has given us ample opportunity to witness his top speeds in action over the last few seasons.

“If he hits it in the gap,” said Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday, “it’s an automatic triple.”

Added Twins first baseman Ty France: “Playing against him, he makes guys panic. Make poor decisions based purely off his speed.”

Witt has improved his efficiency on the basepaths this season, with a 79.4% stolen base success rate this year vs. a 72.1% mark in 2024.

“He gets down the line as fast as anybody and then steals bases as fast as anybody,” said Guardians catcher Austin Hedges. “You’re just aware of the guys that can really move, and any time he’s on first base, you’ve got to do a lot right to throw him out if he tries to steal.”

3. Elly De La Cruz, SS, Reds, 17 votes

The Reds’ star -- and the only participant in the Speedway Classic who received a vote in this poll -- has cheekily described himself as the “fastest man in the world.” It’s no surprise that a good number of players agree with him (er, at least, in the “baseball world”).

Interestingly/surprisingly, De La Cruz is “only” in the 91st percentile in sprint speed this season (slacker), but his 30.2 feet per second sprint speed in 2023-24 was second only to Witt’s 30.5 mark.

And it sure says something that the guy who won this poll (Simpson) himself voted for De La Cruz!

“Elly can move,” Simpson said. “He’s just relentless. He just has the mindset, like, ‘I’m going to go. Me versus you, I’ve got myself over anybody.’ I like that mindset. He’s exciting.”

He’s fast, and he knows it. Over the last three seasons, no player has attempted more steals than De La Cruz.

“As soon as he gets on,” said Mariners pitcher Bryce Miller, “if he isn't going first pitch, he's probably going second pitch.”

But…

“He’s got a good baseball IQ, too,” De La Cruz’s Reds teammate Austin Hays said. “He doesn’t just take off and run. He can delay steal. He picks his spots. His attention to the defense when he’s on the bases and you pair that with his speed, it’s special. And he’s 6-foot-5.”

De La Cruz’s abnormal height gives him a longer stride length, but that also means more effort to move those longer limbs.

“It’s just crazy with how big he is and how he moves at that size,” said the Cardinals’ Alec Burleson. “He’s so fast, he’s got juice, and he’s just a freak.”

4. Corbin Carroll, OF, Diamondbacks, five votes

Carroll had the makings of a future soccer star at a young age, but, thankfully for us, he decided to focus on baseball. Now, he blazes the basepaths and outfield with 98th percentile sprint speed and some of the fastest home-to-home and home-to-first times in MLB.

“He flies,” said Dodgers pitcher Ben Casparius. “He’s kind of a freak, honestly … He’s an angry runner.”

An angry runner who had at least 35 steals and 20 homers each of the last two seasons, with surprising pop for his 5-foot-10, 165-pound frame.

“He’s a very well-rounded baseball player that’s not fun to play against,” said Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland. “You gotta keep your eyes on him.”

5. Byron Buxton, OF, Twins, two votes

Injuries have famously pervaded the career of this elite talent. But here he is, at age 31, having maybe the best season of his life and still third only to Trea Turner and Witt in sprint speed.

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“When he’s on the field,” said Royals pitcher Daniel Lynch IV, “he’s the most elite, dynamic player in the league.”

Honorable mention (one vote apiece): Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs; Turner, SS, Phillies; Fernando Tatis Jr., OF, Padres; Hyeseong Kim, 2B, Dodgers