Chandler Simpson

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Chandler Lenard Simpson

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Biographical Information[edit]

Outfielder Chandler Simpson entered the professional ranks with a reputation as one of the fastest players in recent memory. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2nd round of the 2022 amateur draft, out of Georgia Tech, having previously played two other seasons at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He was principally an infielder in college and hit a scorching .434 in 47 games in his lone season for the Yellow Jackets, scoring 64 runs and stealing 27 bases.

The Rays immediately moved Chandler to the outfield after drafting him, a bit like the Cincinnati Reds had done with Billy Hamilton, a very similar player, a decade before, in order to take advantage of his speed on defense. In his first taste of the pro game in 2022, he hit .370 in 8 games for the FCL Rays and he followed that with an excellent season in 2023 when his slash line was .294/.373/.345 in 115 games between the Class A Charleston RiverDogs and High-A Bowling Green Hot Rods. He scored 88 runs and stole 94 bases that season, tying for the minor league stolen base crown with his good friend Victor Scott. In 2024, he started the year at Bowling Green, then was promoted to the AA Montgomery Biscuits after hitting .364 in 32 games. He continued to hit very well in the Southern League and was named to the American League team at the 2024 Futures Game. On September 8th, he became the first player to steal 100 bases in a minor league season since 2012, when Hamilton and Delino DeShields Jr. had both done so. He finished the year at .355/.410/.397 in 110 games, with 90 runs and 104 steals. His stolen base total was 30 more than anyone else playing in the minors that year. After the season, he played for Team USA at the 2024 Premier 12, where he served as the team's lead-off hitter. He led all players in the tournament with 9 stolen bases.

He started the 2025 season in AAA with the Durham Bulls, where he hit .301 with 13 runs and 8 stolen bases in his first 17 games. He was called up to Tampa Bay on April 18th to replace the injured Richie Palacios on the roster. He made his debut the next day, playing centerfield and batting lead-off against the New York Yankees and going 1 for 5 with a run and an RBI in a 10-8 win. The next day, he was involved in what could have ended up an extremely controversial play when he hit a ground ball to 1B Paul Goldschmidt which deflected off his glove, allowing him to make it safely. The play was ruled an error, but Simpson was convinced he would have beat out a hit even had the ball been played cleanly. This was important as Yankees pitcher Max Fried had not yet allowed a base hit, and completed that inning and the 7th without allowing one either. But before Fried could take the mound for the 8th, the official scorer reversed his call, crediting Chandler with an infield single, and thereby ending the no-hit bid. Jake Mangum then ensured there would be no lingering controversy as he hit a clean single to lead off the bottom of the 8th. He played 109 games for the Rays, batting .295 with no homers and 26 RBIs, scoring 53 runs and stealing 44 bases. His 12 times caught stealing led the American League, even if his success percentage was good and it was not a particularly high total. He finished second to teammate José Caballero in stolen bases, as Caballero, who finished the season with the Yankees, had 49. His OPS+ was 89.

In spring training in 2026, he did something unprecedented for him: he hit a home run over the fence. Until then, his only homer as a professional had come with Montgomery in 2024 and had been of the inside-the-park variety. He was a starter in the outfield from the get-go for the Rays, and his defensive play was much improved: defensive metrics had placed him below average in his rookie season, in spite of his elite speed, because his jumps were so poor that even his great speed did not allow him to recover in many cases. He had clearly worked on this in the off-season, as he was now among the best defensive outfielders in the majors, the results now catching up with his tools.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Adam Berry: "'Little Tony Gwynn' the prospect to watch for Rays", mlb.com, February 21, 2025. [1]
  • Adam Berry: "Stolen-base machine Chandler Simpson called up by Rays: 'I've proved it'", mlb.com, April 18, 2025. [2]
  • Adam Berry: 2How is Simpson excelling? By doing it his way", mlb.com, April 29, 2025. [3]
  • Adam Berry: "More Simpson speed feats propel Rays in rubber match in Bronx", mlb.com, May 4, 2025. [4]
  • Michael Clair: "100 stolen base speed demon Chandler Simpson has game-changing speed", mlb.com, November 26, 2024. [5]
  • Matt Monagan: "How two of baseball's fastest friends are bringing speed back: Outrunning cars, driving defenses crazy and the race to 100 bags", mlb.com, February 20, 2024. [6]
  • Mike Petriello: "Chandler Simpson's huge defensive turnaround isn't just about speed", mlb.com, May 20, 2026. [7]
  • Ben Weinrib: "Rays No. 5 prospect becomes first player to steal 100 bases since 2012", mlb.com, September 8, 2024. [8]
  • Ben Weinrib: "Chandler Simpson beats out a routine one-hopper TO FIRST BASE", mlb.com, April 5, 2025. [9]

Related Sites[edit]

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