{"id":766015,"date":"2026-07-16T09:55:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/766015\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T09:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:55:14","slug":"ohtanis-duality-sotos-eye-the-skills-mlb-players-said-theyd-most-want-to-steal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/766015\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohtani\u2019s duality? Soto\u2019s eye? The skills MLB players said they\u2019d most want to steal"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the All-Stars took the field Tuesday in Philadelphia<\/a>, many of the biggest names in the sport were center stage. And with them, some of the loudest tools in the game. There was extreme velocity, incredible power and breathtaking speed.<\/p>\n

This spring, as part of our annual anonymous MLB Player Poll<\/a>, The Athletic asked 100 major-league players across 23 teams a simple but impossible question: If you could have any tool from one current player, which would you choose? The players were granted anonymity to speak candidly (and perhaps be more willing to admit wanting to steal a rival\u2019s skill).<\/p>\n

The responses were an All-Star collection, with a few predictable standouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like all the answers are going to be a combination of (Shohei) Ohtani and (Aaron) Judge just because they\u2019re gross,\u201d one NL West player said. \u201cThey are gross at baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, New York Yankees right fielder Judge was mentioned 14 times, meaning his name came up in nearly one out of every seven responses. Some players wanted his overall hitting ability \u2014 \u201cEverything involved with his bat, period,\u201d one former first-round draft pick said \u2014 but most specifically longed for Judge\u2019s mammoth power.<\/p>\n

\u201cWouldn\u2019t it be nice to hit 50 home runs a season?\u201d one fellow New Yorker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just looks so easy,\u201d said an NL East starter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even hit,\u201d one NL pitcher said, \u201cbut that would be fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ohtani\u2019s name came up slightly less often \u2014 10 times \u2014 perhaps because the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar has a uniqueness that requires more than one tool. Ohtani\u2019s power was mentioned most often \u2014 \u201cShohei\u2019s pop, that would be amazing. It would be sick.\u201d \u2014 but it was hard to ignore his standalone ability to do it all.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo pitch and hit, you get the best of both worlds,\u201d one NL Central player said. \u201cWhat baseball player wouldn\u2019t want to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

All of them, surely, want a bit of Ohtani\u2019s magic, but five different players singled out Luis Arraez\u2019s ability to make contact \u2014 \u201cI\u2019d be a .330 hitter with 30 bombs!\u201d one position player fantasized \u2014 and even non-hitters seemed in awe of Juan Soto\u2019s eye and approach at the plate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get I\u2019m a pitcher,\u201d one NL player said. \u201cBut maybe that\u2019s why I\u2019m so impressed by it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another player put the Soto appreciation in deeper perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wants you to think he\u2019s in control of what\u2019s going on,\u201d one lefty reliever said, \u201cwhen our whole life, we think the pitcher\u2019s in charge, the pitcher\u2019s in control. He tries to flip that on you, and I think that\u2019s impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

What tool would the All-Star Game players take from each other?<\/p>\n

Jayne Orenstein, Rebecca Tauber and more<\/p>\n

Four players mentioned Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr., but two longed for his power and two wanted his speed. Four also mentioned Bobby Witt Jr., two singling out his speed, one wanting his first-step quickness on defense, and another requesting all of the above.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of (his) tools,\u201d an NL Central outfielder said, \u201cpower, speed, arm strength, all of it. Him. \u2026 he\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked during All-Star Week whose tool he\u2019d most like to steal, Witt offered that he\u2019d like to have Munetaka Murakami\u2019s power.<\/p>\n

Elly De La Cruz and Trea Turner were also singled out twice for their speed, and Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez got nods for his hitting ability and consistency. We also heard the names of Ozzie Albies (barrel control), Freddie Freeman (bat-to-ball skill), Yordan Alvarez (power), Chandler Simpson (speed), and Shea Langeliers (arm). And we heard some love for the diminutive Houston Astros second baseman with the second-highest batting average of any qualified active player.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would take Jose Altuve\u2019s skill of being able to kind of hit any kind of pitch,\u201d one former teammate said. \u201cOut of the zone, in the zone, just how he kind of flicks the ball sometimes. I\u2019d take that skill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Altuve has long defied expectations, but we will admit that the ability to \u201cflick\u201d is not what we expected when asking for elite major-league skills. We were expecting answers more like this.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive me Mason Miller\u2019s velo all day,\u201d one player said.<\/p>\n

That was a popular response. Ten different players mentioned the San Diego Padres closer, the most of any pitcher, and the word \u201cfastball\u201d or \u201cvelocity\u201d was always somewhere in their answers.<\/p>\n

\u201cSelf-explanatory, right?\u201d one rival NL West pitcher said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI barely throw 90, dude,\u201d said an AL reliever.<\/p>\n

\u201c102 to 105 is pretty electric,\u201d another NL pitcher said. \u201cThat would be awesome to have in my back pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n

During All-Star media day, we sought out the popular Miller to inform him of his much-desired skill set and asked what he covets. His response? \u201cYoshinobu Yamamoto\u2019s curveball. Something a little slower for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tarik Skubal was singled out by five players in our poll, with one specifically mentioning his changeup. Devin Williams\u2019 changeup was also mentioned by four players, and another four singled out Aroldis Chapman \u2014 three wanting his fastball and another specifically admiring his ability to maintain that fastball into his late 30s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spoke to him last year,\u201d the player said. \u201cAnd he said, \u2018As soon as I stop throwing hard, I\u2019ll know it\u2019s time to go home.\u2019 I was like, \u2018Well, you\u2019ve got another 12 years in you!\u2019 Even if he loses 5 mph, he\u2019s still one of the hardest-throwing lefties in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Editor\u2019s note: Speaking of guys with velocity, you might be wondering why Jacob Misiorowski is notably absent from this list; our data was collected from February to May of this year \u2014 just slightly before The Miz began breaking velocity records at a regular clip.)<\/p>\n

Three different players wanted something of Jacob deGrom\u2019s, but each chose something different. One wanted his command, another wanted his fastball and another wanted his mechanics.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis body control is flawless,\u201d the AL Central resident said.<\/p>\n

Three pitchers wanted either Paul Skenes\u2019 sinker or his splinker. Two wanted either Yamamoto\u2019s flexibility or pitchability. Two more wanted either Gerrit Cole\u2019s fastball command or his mentality.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think just Gerrit, in general, honestly,\u201d one fellow AL East player said. \u201cHe\u2019s just extremely smart. Kind of knows what he wants to do. Knows how all of his pitches play off each other. We could go with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sixteen other pitchers were mentioned once, including Edwin D\u00edaz for his ninth-inning mentality and Nolan McLean for his spin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the best I have seen,\u201d one multiple-time All-Star said.<\/p>\n

But more often, pitchers longed to steal a specific pitch. We heard about enviable fastballs (Dylan Cease, Ryne Nelson, Louis Varland), sliders (Griffin Jax, Jes\u00fas Luzardo), curveballs (Nick Lodolo), splitters (Fernando Cruz), and changeups (Mart\u00edn P\u00e9rez). And if that changeup choice seems surprising, keep in mind that the one player who wanted a Cristopher Sanchez pitch asked specifically for his sinker, not his changeup.<\/p>\n

But some players tried to be more practical in their envy. Four singled out pitchers specifically for their longevity and durability.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s been staying crazy healthy?\u201d one player asked before choosing Toronto Blue Jays veteran Jos\u00e9 Berr\u00edos, who promptly went on the injured list in spring training and hasn\u2019t pitched in a major league game all year. Others singled out specifically for their durability and longevity were Kenley Jansen, Logan Webb and Justin Verlander, all of whom have been on the injured list this season, and one of whom, Verlander, went to the All-Star Game as a \u201cLegend Pick\u201d after making just one start this season and announcing his intention to retire<\/a> at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

Two potential takeaways: Either the baseball jinx is real, or you must be careful what you wish for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the All-Stars took the field Tuesday in Philadelphia, many of the biggest names in the sport were…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":766016,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99],"class_list":["post-766015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}