Minor League Baseball

Tampa Bay Rays Speedy Prospect Chandler Simpson Joins Elite Company

Simpson, who was with the Rays earlier this season, just did something at Triple-A Durham that has only been matched by former Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll.
Brady Farkas|
Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson (14) singles during the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field on May 25.
Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson (14) singles during the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field on May 25. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

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Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay Rays' prospect Chandler Simpson is so fast that he just accomplished something that only Corbin Carroll has done this season.

Per MLB Pipeline on social media:

"Watch Simpson fly!"

@RaysBaseball's No. 7 prospect Chandler Simpson ZOOMS from home-to-third in 10.97 seconds, the fastest time at Triple-A in 2025 and second to only Corbin Carroll in all of affiliate ball.

Simpson, 24, is one of the fastest players in affiliated ball, as is Carroll, the former National League Rookie of the Year. Simpson was promoted to the Rays earlier this season and played 35 games for Kevin Cash's team. In that time, he hit .285 with 19 stolen bases, giving the team plenty of firepower on the basepaths.

Though the Rays have too many outfielders for him to get serious playing time now in the big leagues, it stands to reason that he'll be back before the season ends, especially as Tampa battles for a playoff spot down the stretch.

He's hitting .308 at the minor-league level with 11 stolen bases.

The Rays entered play on Friday at 36-32 and in third place in the American League East. They are taking on the New York Mets and then will play the National League East leaders again on Saturday afternoon with first pitch coming at 4:10 p.m. ET.

Right-hander Drew Rasmussen will pitch for Tampa Bay while Tylor Megill will take the ball for New York. Rasmussen has turned into one of the better starters in the American League, going 5-4 with a 2.22 ERA. Megill is 5-4 with a 3.76 ERA.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

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