​DETROIT — Who knew?Who knew Tigers rookie Ben Malgeri’s superpower was stealing bases? Who knew his sprint speed, as measured in-game by Statcast, is faster than Max Clark’s?True story.“I didn’t know that,” Malgeri said, with a smile.Entering play Friday, Sept. 11, Malgeri was 5-for-5 on steals of second base. And his sprint speed, 29.1 feet per second, ranks in the 91st percentile in baseball.“Stealing bases hasn’t ever come easy to me,” said Malgeri, who stole second base off lefty A.J. Minter in two separate games against the Twins, putting himself in scoring position twice in key moments. “It’s not necessarily something I was super confident in. But all the work we’ve been doing, it’s making me feel more comfortable out there and more confident to go when the time is right.”Malgeri, who stole 20 bases and was caught just four times at Double-A Erie in 2024, diverts the credit to coaches Anthony Sanders and George Lombard, as well as the Tigers’ minor-league baserunning coach Arnie Beyeler.“Anthony Sanders has helped me a ton,” Malgeri said. “He’s one of the best I’ve seen at breaking down pitchers, reading times, reading tendencies, knowing when to go and when not to go and how to get a good jump.”More: Tigers don’t steal much. Some prospects suggest that’s going to changeClark, whose sprint speed is 28.6 feet per second, has stolen three bases and been caught once. He was picked off by lefty Taylor Rogers in the sixth inning of the finale against the Twins on Wednesday, Sept. 9 and then stole second and ended up scoring in the eighth.Both project to be dynamic baserunners but both still show signs of being tentative with that part of their game. The four stolen base attempts by Clark, who stole 74 bases in 83 attempts in the minor leagues, is probably too low given his speed. Malgeri has had 20 opportunities to take an extra base and has taken just seven. And he’s yet to be thrown out.We can add rookie Kevin McGonigle to this discussion, as well. He leads the Tigers with 12 stolen bases in 15 tries but he has tried to steal just twice since Aug. 1. There’s a lot more to be squeezed from this particular tool set.“Once we match that athleticism with trust, we’re going to start to see a little more of that,” manager AJ Hinch said.This has been a big point of emphasis this month as the Tigers break in eight rookie position players. Hinch talked about being a “fear-based” team, a team that puts pressure on the defense with both the threat of running and with actual aggression.There is a learning curve that comes with that.“When guys come up here, it’s hard to convince them that it’s OK to make a mistake,” Hinch said. “This is the biggest stage, in the biggest moments, it’s what they’ve dreamed of their whole life. They just want to fit in and not make a mistake.”Hinch often talks about the importance of young players checking off firsts. He’s talking about the first hit, fi