Chandler Simpson beat out a routine one-hopper TO FIRST BASE
Chandler Simpson has already earned his reputation as the fastest man in baseball, someone whose speed breaks the 20-80 scouting scale. The Rays' No. 7 prospect showed off his wheels at an entirely new level by beating out an infield single -- to the first baseman -- in Triple-A Durham's
Chandler Simpson has already earned his reputation as the fastest man in baseball, someone whose speed breaks the 20-80 scouting scale.
The Rays' No. 7 prospect showed off his wheels at an entirely new level by beating out an infield single -- to the first baseman -- in Triple-A Durham's 15-1 win over Sugar Land on Friday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
It may sound like the stuff of legend, but Simpson, who became the first Minor Leaguer to steal 100 bases in a season since 2012 last year, really does leave defenders with little margin for error.
Batting in the seventh inning, Simpson slapped a grounder to Astros prospect Collin Price. The first baseman had to shuffle a couple of steps to his right to corral the ball, but with pitcher Blake Weiman not covering first, Price had little chance against the speedy Simpson, who was tearing up the baseline.
Simpson reached 31.0 ft/sec on the play, which is the fourth-fastest sprint speed of any play in the Statcast has measured in Minors (Triple-A and the Single-A Florida State League) this year. In just 14 gallops, he raced up the baseline and made it to first in 4.01 seconds, the 27th-fastest time in the Minors. For context, both of those figures rank in the top percentile.
Naturally, that wasn't Simpson's only track-meet performance of the day. The 24-year-old also reached on an infield single to second base (30.8 ft/sec spring speed) in the fourth inning and proceeded to steal second base before right-hander Aaron Brown could get a pitch off to home plate.
Simpson added sprint speeds of 30.7 and 29.5 on other plays, making him the only player in the Minors to achieve three sprint speeds of at least 30 ft/sec in a single game. He's also the only Minor Leaguer to reach 29.5 ft/sec four times in a game.
Of course, the Minor League season is only a week old, but this showing is impressive even for the Major League level as well. Only four big leaguers -- Pete Crow-Armstrong, Elly De La Cruz, Trea Turner and Bobby Witt Jr. -- reached sprint speeds of 30.5 ft/sec three times in a game last year, as Simpson did on Friday.
And it's not just Simpson's peak speed that's impressive. He became the only player in the Minors this season that Statcast measured to reach first in less than 4.10 seconds multiple times -- and he did so three times. Nobody did that at all in the Majors or Minors last season.
Simpson's speed is truly a marvel, and now that he's reached the highest level of the Minors, that dominance can be precisely measured by Statcast. And if he keeps running this way while hitting for a high average, he'll be racing his way to the Majors before long as well.
Ben Weinrib is a contributor for MiLB.com.