MLB’s 20-20 Club Has Never Been More Crowded

Over the past handful of seasons, Major League Baseball has implemented a range of new rules with the goal of improving the product on the field. They’ve done just that through the pitch clock, limiting mound visits, and more.

Some of the most notable impacts can be seen when it comes to base running, where the implementation of bigger bases, limiting disengagements, and more have all played a huge role in leading to more stolen bases.

As a result of this and the influx of power over the last decade or so, the power-speed clubs have only seen more records set. We’ve seen players form the 40-70 clubs and the 50-50 clubs in this span. However, the 20-20 club is more crowded this season than ever before.

With the combination of league-wide rule changes and the surge in power across today’s game, speed and strength are colliding in ways we haven’t consistently seen in baseball history.

While the rare feats of 40-70 or 50-50 are more notable, the foundation of this new era lies in just how many players are reaching the once-elite 20-20 threshold this season. This once-exclusive club is more crowded than ever.

Stats Taken Prior to play on September 8th

Who’s Already in the 20-20 Club and Pushing for 30-30?

So far, there are already 13 players in the 20-20 club, a number that was rarely seen just a few seasons ago.

Quite a few of these 13 players have the rare opportunity to reach beyond the 20-20 club as well, which really speaks to this new era of baseball we’ve seen.

Juan Soto will likely reach the 30-30 mark first out of this group, as he’s already cleared the home run requirement pretty easily. With this being the trickiest part of the club, he currently sits just one stolen bases away from joining the club.

What is incredible is that Soto has never even joined the 20-20 club before, as his career-high in stolen bases prior to this season was 12. He has more than doubled that, and may even more than triple it when it is all said and done.

Pete Crow-Armstrong would be next in line, as he already has the stolen bases necessary to join the club. He currently sits just two homers off the 30 mark, but with his current slump and now being day-to-day with a knee injury, this may be further away than it seems. Crow-Armstrong hit just one homer in August, as it was a disaster month for the breakout star.

Jose Ramirez is also fairly close to reaching the next club, as he’s just three homers away from moving up the chain. Ramirez is one of the sneakiest base-stealers in the sport, as he’s about to reach the 40 stolen base mark for the second-straight season.

Last year, Ramirez came just one homer short of going 40-40, and had to settle for joining the 30-30 club for the second time in his career instead. This would mark the third time J-Ram went 30-30, and the first time he has done it in back-to-back years, with the other 30-30 season coming back in 2018.

Ramirez’s teammate back in 2018, Francisco Lindor went 38-25, coming up five stolen bases short of the 30-30 club. He would not join the club for the first time until 2023, when he went 31-31 in his third season with the Mets.

Now, Lindor stands a great chance to go 30-30 with one of his teammates, as he will join Soto if he hits another four home runs, and steals two more bases. In 2024, Lindor came just one stolen base short of the 30-30 club, otherwise this would mark three-consecutive years for the Mets’ shortstop.

Finally, the New York Yankees look like they will get one of their players into the 30-30 club, as Jazz Chisolm Jr. is just two home runs and three stolen bases away from getting the job done.

The road to the 30-30 club is a little harder for the rest of the players on this board. However, crazier things have happened in a month’s worth of games. One hot month could lead to a few more members of the 20-20 club moving up, although it’ll be more of an uphill battle to do so.

Will We Get Anyone to 40-40?

While it seems like five of the thirteen players in the 20-20 club have a real shot at making the 30-30 club, we may see one player reach beyond that mark. While it’ll be an uphill battle, Juan Soto has a shot to make his way to the 40-40 club.

Surprisingly enough, Juan Soto has unexpectedly put himself within touching distance of the 40-40 club. As I previously mentioned, Soto is extremely close to the 40-homer mark, as he only needs two more to reach this point.

The tricky part for Soto will be the stolen bases. He’s 11 stolen bases away from reaching 40 on the season, which is exactly how many stolen bases he had in August. Over his last 15 games, Soto has swiped nine bases. With 19 games left to play with, Soto would be on the doorstep of going 40-40 if he can just replicate that pace over the next 15 games.

Soto’s ability to swipe bases has been a very underrated part of his game this year, as he’s been a below league-average runner his whole career who didn’t attempt to steal often.

If he continues to run at this pace, though, this is definitely within reach. This becomes even more true given how often Soto gets on base, as he should have plenty of opportunities to run.

Who Needs to Hit More Homers to Reach the 20-20 Club?

Although there are already 13 players inside this year’s 20-20 club, many players are barely on the outside looking in. When it comes to players who need to hit more homers, nine players may find themselves in the 20-20 club with a few more blasts.

Starting things out in the National League Central, Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz may be the next player to enter the club. He’s already stolen 37 bases, and he’s hit 19 homers so far this season. With his next blast, he’ll enter the club.

The same can be said for Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz, who’s swiped over 30 bases while slugging 19 blasts in the process.

Josh Naylor has been baseball’s biggest surprise on the basepaths this year, as he will have doubled his career stolen base total with his next steal, going from 25 career stolen bases in his first six seasons, to being one stolen base away from 25 this year.

Last year, Naylor hit 31 home runs, a mark he will not reach again this season. He is two homers away from 20 though, putting the 20-20 club well within reach.

After his recent hot stretch, Brice Turang also sits just three homers away from joining the club, as he’s already stolen 23 bases for the Brewers. Shortstops CJ Abrams and Geraldo Perdomo are both in the same position, having each cleared 20 stolen base, while sitting at 17 homers.

Former teammates Cedric Mullins, and Gunnar Henderson are both four homers away from joining the club. Henderson is playing everyday still, while Mullins is now in a part-time role with the Mets, so the latter is more likely to reach the club than the former.

Fernando Tatis Jr. is the last player who needs to improve his home run total in order to enter the club. Luckily for him, he currently sits at 19 homers and 27 stolen bases, meaning he’ll be in the club with his next homer.

Who Needs to Steal More Bases to Make the 20-20 Club?

There aren’t just nine players who may enter the 20-20 club by the end of the season, as five players currently need to steal some more bases to enter the club. It’s definitely a possibility, as the road to the 20-20 club is easier in some cases for these players.

The closest player to 20 stolen bases is Wyatt Langford, as he currently sits just two steals away from joining the club. He’s already hit the 20 homers necessary as well. With his 88th-percentile sprint speed, this shouldn’t be a challenge for him at all.

After Wyatt Langford, the next closest player is Lawrence Butler, who’s stolen 17 bases so far this season.

While three stolen bases are a small number, Butler’s 37th-percentile sprint speed may make this a little more challenging but doable. He also still needs two more homers to reach the 20-homer mark needed for the club.

George Springer and Anthony Volpe are both just four stolen bases away from joining the club as well, which is pretty doable considering there’s still a month left in the season.

Volpe has joined the club once before, but he also needs to hit one more homer. For Springer, this would be his second time joining the club, as he reached this mark back in 2023 also. Springer may go 30-20, as he is three homers away from reaching that plateau.

Christian Yelich is the furthest away, as he needs just five stolen bases in order to reach the 20-20 mark. He’s had a monster season offensively and has already cleared the 20-homer mark by seven.

How Many Players Will Be in the 20-20 Club in 2025?

Along with the 13 players already in the 20-20 club, 14 others are within five homers and five steals of joining. If all goes to plan, we could see 27 players inside the club by season’s end.

This isn’t even considering the players who are slightly over five homers or five stolen bases away from joining the club.

It seems possible that all 14 of these players could join the club relatively easily, meaning we could see close to 30 players inside the 20-20 club for the first time.

No season has ever seen 30 players reach the 20-20 club in the same season. In fact, the league will likely surpass the previous record of 19, which was set in the 1999, 2023, and 2024 seasons. This is a truly historic season for the 20-20 club, as we could very easily see a new record by season’s end.

It’s hard to exactly predict who may enter the 20-20 club by the end of the season. However, I think it’s safe to say we’ll see more than 20 players inside the club, which would set a new record.