Chandler Simpson gave the 98-win Rays a different kind of everyday force in 2026: a leadoff-style player whose game was built on putting the ball in play, taking the extra base and turning left field into a strength. Tampa Bay opens its American League Division Series against the Yankees on Saturday, and Simpson arrives there after a regular season that looked more like a page from an earlier baseball generation than the current power-heavy game.
The 25-year-old finished second in the American League batting race at .306, behind Yordan Alvarez’s .316, while going the entire season without a home run. FanGraphs credited Simpson with 2.3 WAR, an impressive total for a player who supplied his value without the long ball. His overall offensive production sat near league average, but his high-contact approach, 46 stolen bases and sharp defensive turnaround made him one of Tampa Bay’s most distinctive contributors.
A qualified hitter had not posted a .300 average without a homer since Luis Castillo batted .302 for the Marlins in 1999. Simpson also came close to an even rarer landmark: no player has won a batting title while hitting .300 or better without a homer since Rod Carew in 1972.
Since 1900, only nine qualified players have combined a .300 average, zero home runs and more than 40 steals in the same season. Castillo did it in 1999; Ozzie Smith reached the line in 1987, Maury Wills in 1963, and Eddie Collins accomplished it twice during the 1910s. Simpson has yet to homer in the Major Leagues and hit only one during his Minor League time, making his 2026 line especially unusual in a sport where regulars are commonly expected to provide some power.
Speed and defense changed the shape of his season
Simpson led the AL with 46 steals after swiping 44 bases in 2025. It extended a three-year run in which a Rays player finished atop the league, or shared the lead, in stolen bases. José Caballero led the AL for Tampa Bay in 2024 and then for the Rays and Yankees last season. Simpson’s title was the seventh such occurrence for the franchise, with Carl Crawford accounting for four during the 2000s.
His impact went beyond the raw steal total. Statcast placed Simpson at eight baserunning runs above average, tied with Pete Crow-Armstrong for third best in the Majors. Only Corbin Carroll and Bobby Witt Jr., each at plus-nine, rated higher.
The bigger development may have come in the outfield. Simpson’s speed did not translate consistently into defensive production in 2025, when he posted minus-five Outs Above Average and minus-nine Defensive Runs Saved while working in both center and left. This was not simply a matter of finding a comfortable corner; his struggles had shown up at both spots a year ago.
Installed in left field in 2026, Simpson flipped those numbers. He recorded eight Outs Above Average, putting him in the 93rd percentile across baseball, and also finished with eight Defensive Runs Saved. For a Rays club that won 98 games, that improvement turned a potential weak point into another dependable part of the lineup.
Tampa Bay will need every version of Simpson against New York: the hitter who can start an inning with a ground ball through the infield, the runner who can make a pitcher work from the stretch, and the left fielder who now converts difficult chances. ALDS Game 1 is scheduled for Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET on TBS, truTV, UniMas and HBO Max.
