The minor league prospect known as the fastest man in baseball pulled off perhaps his most ridiculous feat yet in a game Friday night.
Tampa Bay Rays outfield prospect Chandler Simpson added another play to his highlight reel while playing for the Durham Bulls on Friday. In the bottom of the seventh, Simpson hit what looked like a routine ground ball to Sugar Land Space Cowboys first baseman Collin Price, but he was able to essentially outrun the ball to first base.
He's a freak. He's the fastest kid alive.
— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) April 5, 2025
Y'all, Chandler Simpson just beat out a ground ball TO THE FIRST BASEMAN pic.twitter.com/JuPKqYlPDU
The most impressive thing about the play is that Price is putting in plenty of effort. He does take a moment to start moving once he fields the grounder, but upon realizing how hard Simpson is running, he starts hustling himself.
Regardless of what Price was doing, few players would even run this hard on a routine ground ball in a 12-0 game. Simpson did, and he got an incredible highlight out of it.
Simpson reached base three times in Durham’s 15-1 victory. He already has four stolen bases in six games this season after stealing 104 bags across two levels of the minors in 2024.
Simpson proved in spring training that he can take advantage of his game-changing speed against MLB-level opposition. If the Rays need a bit of speed on their roster, he might make it to the majors this season.
