Shohei Ohtani has been unbelievable at the plate and on the basepaths this season for the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first season with the historic franchise. When he can’t do it on the mound, he only seems to elevate what he does in the other remaining areas of the game. He’s currently at 39 home runs and 37 stolen bases, and while a sure 40/40 season is coming, he may be the first to obtain a 50 home run, 50 stolen base season. Inaugurating the prestigious 50/50 club.
While the record would be astounding, it is surely not one of the records in baseball that is unbreakable, especially with some of the players currently across the major leagues. Here’s some of the active players who could possibly reach the 50/50 milestone at some point in their careers.
- Elly De La Cruz SS – Cincinnati Reds
The first name that might come to mind in this case is Reds breakout superstar Elly De La Cruz. Since surging onto the scene last season, De La Cruz has shown his unbelievable exit velocity off the bat, and impressive speed on the basepaths. Elly currently has 21 home runs and 59 stolen bases. He leads the league in strikeouts and with decreased strikeout numbers will for sure put up more home runs. At 22 years old, the approach will improve once Elly hits his prime and his exit velocity and hard hit rate numbers will almost certainly improve as well once he adds more strength. Elly has MVP potential, and this is the numbers of what an MVP will put up.
- Bobby Witt Jr. SS – Kansas City Royals
Royals star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is one of the more frequent names thrown around nowadays to break records. Witt certainly has the speed to hit the 50 stolen base mark, but it’ll take a power surge from him to hit the 50 home run mark. Since Witt uses all sides of the field and hits a lot of doubles and triples on top of home runs, it makes this milestone difficult to reach. At maybe age 29, or 30 he could possibly channel more power, and with a possible MVP campaign, could hit the 50/50 mark.
- Ronald Acuña Jr. OF – Atlanta Braves
Acuña has come close to this mark before, and if healthy for an entire season can make a run for the 50/50 mark. Acuña hit 41 home runs twice in his career, back in 2019 and 2023, and stole 73 bases back in his MVP campaign in 2023. With the new stolen base rules and a healthy season from Acuña, he can certainly record a 50/50 season.
- Corbin Carroll OF – Arizona Diamondbacks
Carroll’s been a bit of an afterthought this season as he’s regressed slightly since his Rookie of the Year campaign. Recently however, Carroll’s gotten it back on track, and can easily have a 50/50 year down the road when he’s in his prime playing at the top of his game. Carroll was 25 home runs from this mark last season, and if he can up the power while maintaining the stolen base numbers, has a great shot at reaching the milestone.
- Longshots – Wyatt Langford LF – Texas Rangers & Jackson Holliday 2B – Baltimore Orioles
Two of some of the more premiere young power-speed threats in the MLB now are Wyatt Langford and Jackson Holliday. While Langford hasn’t shown the power much this season, he is only 22 years old, and the power threat has been there since college. Coming into the 2023 draft, scouts said he could possibly be a 40 home run a year type of player, and in his prime with improved power numbers, can elevate his game to this level.
Holliday seems like an easy pick but only time will tell. He has the power for sure, and at the top of his game, we’ll see what the now top prospect in baseball can do. While it’s too early to seriously consider him a 50/50 threat, the potential is there.
While Ohtani has yet to complete the challenge of the 50/50 season, it’ll be interesting to see if he’s the first one to reach the milestone, or if it’s one of the previously mentioned players above.
