Tampa Bay Rays’ Rookie Chandler Simpson Impressive During Win Streak

Chandler Simpson stood in front of his locker where roughly a half dozen media members assembled to ask the outfielder about his arrival in the majors. The Rays’ No. 7 prospect (MLB Pipeline) noted how he has proven himself at each rung of the minor league ladder and there was no reason to think his performance would be anything to the contrary in the big time.

“I want to prove to everybody that my game plays,” said the 24-year-old, who was summoned from Triple-A Durham when outfielder Richie Palacios was placed on the injured list with a right knee sprain. “I know there are some doubts, but I have proved it at every level. What’s one more?”

Simpson, a second-round selection of the Rays in 2022, spoke a couple of hours after arriving at Steinbrenner Field during the early innings of an April 18 game against the Yankees. It was the end of a long day of airports and connecting flights before making his MLB debut the following afternoon. Though the sample size is small, Simpson has since been nothing but impressive.

“He adds an element to any lineup with how fast he is, his (ability to make contact), so I think he can get an opportunity here, a little bit of a runway,” said manager Kevin Cash, whose club was 8-12 prior to Simpson’s debut and 6-2 since. “I don’t know if it will be a short stint, long stint.”

It might be lengthy. Simpson has started all eight games since his debut and is 12-for-30 (.400) with a double, three walks, five runs, three RBI and three stolen bases. The 5-foot-11 and 170-pound center fielder, who Cash has slotted in the leadoff spot four times, was at the heart of a couple of late-inning rallies during a 5-1 trip to Arizona and San Diego that concluded Sunday. In fact, in the eighth and ninth innings combined Simpson is 6-for-8 with all three of his runs batted in.

“Nothing seems to faze him and he has just continued to gain more confidence as he goes,” said Cash. “He has really impacted our offense and defense.”

Simpson, who was hitting .301 with eight stolen basses in 17 games at Durham, had a highlight-reel impact Saturday when he robbed Manny Machado of a seventh-inning home run to preserve a two-run lead in what would be a 4-1 Tampa Bay win over the Padres at Petco Park.

“It was big in the moment,” said Cash. “I asked him when he came (into the dugout) if he had ever robbed (a player of) a home run, and he said in A ball.”

Simpson is an Atlanta native who played his final season of college baseball in 2022 close to home at Georgia Tech after transferring from UAB, where he began his collegiate career during pandemic-shortened 2020. He hit .433 in his lone season with the Yellow Jackets and became the first Tech player to bat .400 since former MLBer Mark Teixeira in 2000.

Simpson, who played second and short in college before the Rays converted him to an outfielder, stole 104 bases while hitting a minor-league best .355 last season between High Class-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery. The fact he has only 38 extra-base hits in 994 minor league at-bats is a minor detail given what he has done and might continue to do for the Rays. After all, his game is making contact at the plate and putting pressure on the defense with his impressive speed.

“It’s been a long journey,” said Simpson. “You have to work hard to get to this point and (being in the majors) is a testament to all the hard work and resiliency that (I have shown) in my career.”