Tampa Bay Rays top prospect Chandler Simpson was recently named as a potential impact call-up for the organization by MLB Pipeline.
The Rays have gone with other prospects — Kameron Misner and Jake Mangum — in the early going instead of the electric Simpson, but there’s no doubting what last year’s Minor League steals leader could bring to the table. Entering Wednesday, he owns three of the four fastest home-to-first times measured by Triple-A Statcast (3,69, 3.70, 3.71), has eight steals in nine attempts over 15 games and is batting .297 thanks to a 95.5 percent in-zone contact rate. The slugging percentage will always be low, but all Simpson needs to do is put the ball in play to fly and he continues to do that at an elite rate.
Could your favorite big league club use an impact callup?
We highlighted one for each organization, including 13 of our Top 100 prospects: https://t.co/TrRGA8zJFY pic.twitter.com/8i8bZXNpH2
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 17, 2025
Simpson, 24, stole 104 bases last year between Single-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery. He’s hitting .309 this season with those eight stolen bases and has posted a .333 on-base percentage.
He’s a lifetime .325 hitter in the minor leagues with just one professional home run. Because of his bat control and contact ability, he’s been called a “little Tony Gwynn.”
Simpson was the No. 70 pick in the MLB Draft back in 2022 and should make his debut soon.
The Rays will host the New York Yankees on Thursday night at the major league level. Ironically, the game will be played at Steinbrenner Field with the Yankees as the road team. New York uses it as their spring training home but the Rays are using the ballpark this year because of damage to Tropicana Field.
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