Folks started talking louder about Chandler Simpson during spring training. He hit just .240 wih three stolen bases in twenty-five spring at bats but you could see that the man can flat out fly.
At twenty-five he has begun his first season at Triple-A. He stole an attention grabbing ninety four bases in 2023 and followed that up with a hundred and four more last season as he reached Double-A.
Simpson doesn’t just steal bases, he gets on base, a lot. His minor league on base percentage is .393 while maintaing a .326 batting average, he’s not far away and he gets places in a hurry:
He's a freak. He's the fastest kid alive.
Y'all, Chandler Simpson just beat out a ground ball TO THE FIRST BASEMAN pic.twitter.com/JuPKqYlPDU
— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) April 5, 2025
Speed and Bat Skills
When you can get around the bases like Simpson than the comparisons are endless. The big stolen base numbers in the past always bring everybody back to Billy Hamilton.
Coming up with Cincinnati, Hamilton was a perennial top prospect. His minor league steal total of one hundred fifty five at age twenty-one had fans salivating but Hamilton struggled with the bat from Triple-A on.
He did get in almost one thousand major league games. He stole a bunch of bases but he just didn’t get on base often enough, now you can find him playing in Mexico.
Simpson is thought to be a much better hitter and he’s off to a good start at Triple-A. Many think he’ll be up in Tampa Bay by mid season.
Fastest MLB Players
As far as his competition for fastest runner in baseball, the statcast era leaves no doubt. Here’s your top five from 2024:
And there are always more on the way. Another arrived last season in the Cubs Pete Crow Armstrong.
He's a freak. He's the fastest kid alive.
Pete Crow-Armstrong turned on the JETS to score this run 💨 pic.twitter.com/S9BDW80BSc
— MLB (@MLB) March 30, 2025
The knock on Simpson is he doesn’t hit the ball hard, doesn’t hit homers. Rays manager Kevin Cash could care less:
“At every level, people have scratched their heads: ‘Is this going to work? Is this going to play?’ ” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “It plays, and then some.”
When the big league manager buys into your skills how far away can you be?
