Rays hope Chandler Simpson can get going as the calendar shifts to June originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Outfielder Chandler Simpson has been one of the Tampa Bay Rays best hitters this season. In 55 games, Simpson is batting .282 with four doubles, four triples (leads the team) and has stolen 14 bases.
Despite leading the team in stolen bases, Simpson also leads the team and the major leagues in caught stealing (eight). After stealing 44 bases (caught a major league-leading 12 times) and posting a 78.6% stolen base percentage, the 25-year-old has become less aggressive on the basepath, with a 63.6% stolen base percentage.
Not known for his powers — Simpson still has no home runs in 634 at-bats in the big leagues and one in his professional career — the Rays need their former second-round pick to get on-base more (.316 on-base percentage this season) and increase his stolen base rate.
The Tampa Bay Rays hope Chandler Simpson can start getting himself going as the calendar shifts to June
Over a third of the way through the Major League Baseball season, June is a time when hitters and teams show you whether they can turn things around or not. According to MLB.com’s Adam Berry, Simpson is someone the Rays need to start heating up in June after having a bad May — Simpson batted .245 with a .592 OPS and stole three bases, but was caught five times.
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“Perhaps fittingly, the fastest man in baseball sprinted out of the gates this season, batting .314 with a .349 on-base percentage and 11 stolen bases in his first 30 games of the season,” wrote Berry. “His defense in left field is still noticeably improved, but he’s run into a little tougher luck lately. In his next 24 games, Simpson posted a .258/.291/.330 slash line with three stolen bases, while getting caught stealing five times. If Simpson gets back on track, he’s a potent weapon in front of the Rays’ top hitters: Junior Caminero, Jonathan Aranda and Yandy Díaz.”
The Rays as a team have been average when scoring runs this season (13th in MLB, 262), but first baseman Jonathan Aranda has been the American League’s second-best RBI man (43). Yandy Diaz is second on the team (38) and Junior Caminero is third (28), so the Rays have run producers. However, Simpson getting on more ahead of these guys could take the Rays to another level– the Rays hold the third-best record in Major League Baseball (36-20).