Rays Rookie Chandler Simpson Leads Team to Matching Impressive Franchise History
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The 2025 MLB regular season wasn’t overly successful for the Tampa Bay Rays. They went 77-85, failing to reach the 80-win plateau in a 162-game campaign for the first time since 2016, when they went 68-94.
This is now two years in a row that the Rays have failed to make the postseason after qualifying for five straight seasons. However, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about what the future holds for the franchise.
Tampa Bay has some dynamic young players in the lineup that are going to generate a lot of offensive production for years to come. Third baseman Junior Caminero provides elite power production as a foundational piece for the team to build around.
Providing the lightning to his thunder is electrifying rookie center fielder Chandler Simpson. Arguably the fastest player in baseball, he wasted no time making his impact felt with his speed in the Major Leagues.
Chandler Simpson makes Rays history with stolen bases
The rookie played in only 109 games in 2025 but was still one of the most prolific base stealers in the MLB. He set the rookie franchise record for stolen bases with 44, finishing in a tie for second with Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Guardians.
Rookie record: stolen pic.twitter.com/nMq2hBF6y4
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) September 30, 2025
The only player who stole more bases was Chandler’s former teammate, Jose Caballero, who was sent to the New York Yankees ahead of the MLB trade deadline. He finished with 49 stolen bases.
The scariest part for opponents when it comes to Chandler’s propensity for stealing bases is that he has room to grow. His efficiency wasn’t great, getting caught stealing an MLB-high 12 times. It is something he will almost certainly improve upon once he gets more adjusted to the Big Leagues after he stole 104 bases in 2024 and was caught only 17 times.
Given the makeup of their team, the Rays have to find ways to generate offense in any way possible. Sitting below the league average in slugging percentage, one way they made up for their lack of power was by being aggressive on the basepaths.
Picked up a lot of bags pic.twitter.com/edk1mPRc8L
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) September 30, 2025
Chandler set the tone with his 44 steals. He was one of five different players to successfully swipe at least 14 bases in 2025. Their 194 stolen bases were the most in baseball, 30 more than the second-place team, the Milwaukee Brewers.
The 48 times they were caught stealing was tied for the second most in baseball and 15 over the league average. But, when you are attempting steals as frequently as Tampa Bay is, there will be times they are thrown out. They successfully stole 79 more bases than the league average, too.
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Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. Previously, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.