A runner cannot steal second from the dugout. That is the uncomfortable limitation on Evan Carter’s 2026 season for the Rangers. Carter’s speed is real, efficient and too often stranded behind a .288 on-base percentage. For Texas, the development question begins at first base.
Carter finished with 17 stolen bases in 20 attempts, a strong record that the Rangers should preserve. The larger task is getting him onto base often enough for that speed to shape innings rather than decorate a stat line.
More running is not the answer if the opportunities remain scarce, and a runner retired at the plate never gets to test the defense on the bases.
The offensive record separates the pieces. Carter had 76 hits in 391 at-bats, a .194 batting average, nine home runs and a .315 slugging percentage. He also drew 47 walks in 455 plate appearances.
Those walks matter. They give him a way to reach without turning every productive at-bat into a hit, and any plan that treats them as incidental would discard an asset already in place.
Patience, though, needs contact beside it. Carter struck out 114 times. His on-base percentage still finished at .288 despite those walks, leaving Texas with a productive runner who too seldom reached the bases.
It is not a power statistic. The more immediate issue is that too few of those opportunities became successful contact, leaving his ability to reach base—and therefore run—dependent on a narrow set of outcomes. Improving that frequency would help even before any larger change in power arrived.
Alejandro Osuna provides a useful contrast without creating a replacement argument. Osuna hit .260, reached base at a .349 rate and slugged .304 in 2026. Those figures show why batting average, reaching base and power are separate development tasks.
Osuna’s higher average and OBP did not come with a larger slugging mark, while Carter’s profile included more extra-base production but a much lower rate of reaching. Carter does not need to chase one number as though it automatically repairs the others. He needs more dependable contact while retaining the walks that already help him.
That distinction should also keep Texas from overreacting to Carter’s most visible strength. His three caught stealings do not justify shutting down the running game, but they do support protecting an efficient approach rather than expanding attempts for the sake of activity. If Carter reaches more frequently, the same running ability becomes more valuable without requiring a busier highlight reel.
