Will Simpson Shows Rays What He Can Do
When the Rays acquired first baseman Will Simpson from the Athletics in December as part of the return in the Jeffrey Springs trade, there was one thing they were sure of.
“He can hit,” Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said.
It took a few weeks with Double-A Montgomery for Simpson to get comfortable in a new organization and to adjust his routine, but Simpson showed in May he very much can hit. Through the first 12 games of the month he compiled a .974 OPS with three home runs.
Montgomery hitting coach Paul Rozzelle calls him “a coach’s dream: 80-grade human, good listener, receptive to messaging and making adjustments.’’
As the 23-year-old Simpson struggled early in the season, there was some solace in that his expected outcomes were much better than his actual numbers, and he eventually proved that he was on the right path.
Plus, Simpson has power from the right side, which is a bonus because the Rays’ top corner prospects, including Brayden Taylor, Tre’ Morgan, Xavier Isaac, skew lefthanded.
“He’s shown us solid hit ability, power to the gaps and the ability to leave the park,” Rays farm director George Pappas said. “He’s starting to feel at home and has adopted some new routines in his drill work that have helped him in recent weeks . . .
“There’s some things to clean up on both sides of the ball, to be expected, but he’s got the right work ethic, and we look forward to seeing him progress over the course of the season.’’
Simpson also has expanded his defensive range, moving off of first base on occasion to play the outfield corners. He has played third base in the past.
“I think I’ve got a little more ability than some might see,” Simpson said. “I can scoot around a little bit. I did play some outfield in college (at Washington). So I think just kind of expanding that tool box a little bit, expanding the versatility is going to be fun.’’
COOL RAYS
— Injuries to three outfielders who were projected to be playing regularly in the majors—Jonny DeLuca, Josh Lowe and Richie Palacios—led the Rays to call up three outfielders from Triple-A: Kameron Misner, who had a brief August 2024 stint in the majors; Jake Mangum and Chandler Simpson, who both made impressive debuts.
— Double-A Montgomery second baseman Cooper Kinney continued to make up for time lost to injury by winning the Southern League player of the month award for April, when he batted .338/.393/.662 with six home runs in 19 games.
