Tampa Bay Rays' Kameron Misner, Chandler Simpson Named AL Rookie of the Year Candidates
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The youth movement in the Tampa Bay Rays' outfield was fast-tracked due to injuries early on this season, but the expedited timeline could result in serious hardware.
MLB.com's Theo DeRosa published a growing list of contenders for AL Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, ranging from favorites to dark horses. Rays outfielder Kameron Misner was included in the "Under the radar no more" section, while Chandler Simpson was in the "New arrivals" category.
Misner is batting .360 with a 1.064 OPS and 0.7 WAR so far in 2025. Through 18 games, he has three home runs, four doubles, one triples, 10 RBIs, one stolen base and four walks.
The 27-year-old was only ranked as the No. 26 prospect in Tampa Bay's farm system in 2024, so it took a historic opening to the season for him to earn real estate on people's radars.
As for Simpson, he made a name for himself by stealing 198 bases over the past two minor league campaigns. He is just outside of MLB Pipeline's top 100, but is still ranked No. 7 among Rays prospects thanks in large part to his blazing speed.
The Rays called Simpson up on April 18, then inserted him into the lineup for the first time on April 19. He went 2-for-8 with a double, a run and a stolen base in his first two big league games.
"There's no race Simpson can't win, including the Rookie of the Year chase," DeRosa wrote.
Boston Red Sox second baseman Kristian Campbell, Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jackson Jobe and Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson remain the heaviest favorites to win AL Rookie of the Year, but Misner and Simpson have proven to be critical figures in the conversation at the very least. With Josh Lowe, Jonny DeLuca and Richie Palacios all on the injured list, Misner and Simpson should get plenty of opportunities to contribute moving forward.
The same can be said for Jake Mangum, a 29-year-old rookie outfielder who is batting .328 with a .743 OPS and 0.8 WAR through 19 games this season, although he was not highlighted by DeRosa.
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- MORGAN REACHES AAA: Tre' Morgan, the No. 4 prospect in the Rays' farm system, joined the Durham Bulls after missing the first few weeks of the 2025 regular season with a quad injury. CLICK HERE
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Sam Connon covers baseball for "On SI'' on the Sports Illustrated platform and is also a senior writer on "Fastball on SI'' and ''Minor League Baseball on SI.'' He previously covered UCLA Athletics for "On SI's'' All Bruins site, among others.
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