Peyton Graham is making the kind of noise that gets a player noticed fast. At Double-A Erie, the Tigers’ shortstop prospect has turned stolen bases into a calling card, and the numbers are hard to ignore: 44 steals in 63 games, tops in the Eastern League.
That kind of pace stands out anywhere in the minors, but it stands out even more in a system where Detroit is clearly looking for more speed. The Tigers’ major league roster still doesn’t have much of it.
Entering this weekend’s action, rookie Kevin McGonigle led the club with 11 stolen bases, and he was the only player on the big-league roster with more than 10. That leaves a clear opening for players who can run, but also do the other jobs that keep you in the lineup.
Graham fits that mold better than most. The Tigers took him in the second round of the 2022 MLB draft out of Oklahoma, and speed has been part of his game from the start. He swiped 20 bags in 100 games last season, his first full year in the minors, and that seemed to set the stage for what he’s doing now.
The stolen-base total is impressive enough on its own, but it gets even louder when you zoom out. Across the full-season minor leagues, only three players have reached 40 steals or more.
Graham is one of them, and the only one in the Eastern League. The others are Asbel Gonzalez and Kane Kepley in the High-A Midwest League, plus Ryan Wideman in the Class-A California League, who has 43.
So why is a player putting up that kind of speed production still in Erie? Injuries slowed him badly in 2023 and 2024.
He only got into one game at Erie across those two seasons and hit around .200, though he still managed to steal at least 10 bases in each year. In total, he played just 121 games over that stretch.
The breakthrough really started last year, when he finally stayed on the field. Graham played 100 games at High-A West Michigan and opened the year there with Kevin McGonigle. He hit .283/.366/.423 with seven home runs and 49 RBI, a sign that regular reps and better health were starting to unlock more than just his legs.
He’s taken another step in 2026. In 63 games with Erie, Graham is hitting .296/.428/.435 with a career-best .865 OPS.
He has four home runs and 32 RBI, both on track to become career highs, and he’s added 11 doubles and four triples. He’s also just one off the Eastern League lead in triples.
Graham still isn’t MLB ready. But this is the closest he’s been, and the speed that has always been there is now driving a real breakthrough season.
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