The SF Giants and the big stolen-base gap of 2026

The SF Giants have tallied 28 steals, and have allowed 79 stolen bases in 2026. The -51 stolen-base differential is the worst in baseball.

Stolen-base differential might be something of a made-up stat. It does not correlate to winning in the same way that home-run differential does. That said, if a team is trying to win around the margins, this is one avenue to pursue.

Unfortunately, this has not been an avenue pursued by the Giants. The Toronto Blue Jays (-45 stolen-base differential) are second behind the Giants in that category. What do they have in common? They are two of the more disappointing teams in baseball, and some of that disappointment can be tied to how they are managing the running game.

On the other, the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees lead baseball with a 54 stolen-base differential and 45 stolen-base differential, respectively. What do they have in common? They are two of the best teams in baseball.

The Giants have been among the least aggressive teams, even while rule changes have encouraged base stealers to be more aggressive. The Giants are also not the slowest team. They rank near the middle of the pack in sprint speed.

The SF Giants are allowing the opponent to be too aggressive on the bases

They are just not all that aggressive and have not been successful at stealing bases. They have attempted 40 steals this year, which is tied with the Houston Astros for the lowest mark in baseball. They have only been successful in 70 percent of those attempts, which is tied with Houston for the third-lowest mark.

They are not stealing bases. They are also being run in frequently. Baseball is known as a game of inches, and the Giants are regularly losing the battle for an extra 90 feet. They have allowed 79 steals this season, which is tied with the Cincinnati Reds for the third-most in baseball. They have a 21-percent caught-stealing rate, which is 19th in baseball.

Stolen bases are often attributed to the catcher, but a lot of these steals should be attributed to the pitcher. In Tuesday night's loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Landen Roupp allowed two steals without even checking the runner. That cannot happen.

That is just one example, but the Giants' pitching staff has done a poor job of controlling the running game. They have recorded -7 Net Bases Prevented, which is the fourth-worst mark in baseball. The three teams behind them are also allowing a lot of steals.

Holding runners on is a coachable trait. If the Giants have a coaching staff that is obsessive about the details, this is one area to look at for improvement. The Giants are moving station to station, but the opponent is regularly turning singles into doubles. The coaching staff needs to show that it can identify an issue and correct it. They should start with this.

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