If your fantasy team is feeling a need for speed, look no further than Tampa Bay Rays rookie Chandler Simpson.
Tabbed the “fastest man in baseball” by Jeff Passan — and, all hyperbole aside, Passan’s probably not wrong about that — Simpson was promoted by the Rays on Friday, after the 24-year-old outfielder had stolen eight bases in 17 games for Triple-A Durham.
What’s flabbergasting about that stolen base performance is not that it put Simpson on a 67-steal pace — assuming 150 scheduled Triple-A games — but that it actually represented a noticeable decline from his usual output in the category. You see, Simpson successfully swiped 104 bags (on 121 attempts) between Class A+ Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery last season, after stealing 94 (on 109 attempts) between Class A Charleston and Class A+ Bowling Green in 2023.
For his minor league career, Simpson is 214-for-249 (85.8% success rate) attempting steals in 250 games played. That’s a Vince Coleman-like (or, for younger fantasy players, Billy Hamilton-like) level of stolen base prowess, and it’s a rate that makes Simpson an instant add in any rotisserie-style league (yes, even shallow mixed).
But can Simpson potentially help fantasy managers of all league types, and, since Hamilton’s name has been brought up as a reference point, is Simpson more Coleman or more Hamilton?
Simpson’s plate approach stands out as a factor that could boost his skill set to the level of points-league relevance, and away from a dreaded Hamilton comp. Between Double- and Triple-A ball this and last season, he had 34 strikeouts compared to 32 walks in 436 trips to the plate, for 7.8% and 7.3% rates. To put that into perspective, among major leaguers, Luis Arraez is the only player with numbers at least as good in all three categories in a single year. Eric Young Sr. (2000) and Juan Pierre (2003) are the only players to have done it while also stealing at least 50 bases this century.
We’ll soon see whether Simpson has the bat to stick as a big-league regular, but he’s worth taking the chance in any non-ESPN-standard format, and even in our points-league offering, his progress should be closely monitored. He’s still available in 85.8% of ESPN leagues.
More points-league pickups
Jonathan Aranda, 1B, Tampa Bay Rays (available in 77.1% of leagues): He’s off to a scorching start to the season, sporting the pleasant trifecta of 94th-percentile-or-better Statcast Barrel and hard-hit rates as well as expected wOBA. Aranda had performed well in all three in limited time in 2024, too, but this season he’s shaping up as the team’s starter and cleanup hitter against right-handed pitchers as well as a certain late-game replacement once the opponent’s lefty starter has been removed from the game. Its usage patterns are designed to maximize his ratios, helping his fantasy teams, with the power metrics to suggest a 25-homer, 90-RBI season is within his reach.
Ben Rice, 1B, New York Yankees (available in 66.3%): Speaking of strong underlying power metrics, Rice can also claim the trifecta of 94th-percentile-or-better numbers in those same three categories. Thanks in large part to his having bulked up over the offseason, leading to a bat speed more than 3-mph greater this season than last, Rice has become a force for the Yankees out of the DH spot. He’s now serving as the team’s leadoff man against right-handed pitching, and might eventually shape up as a middle-of-the-order starter against lefties, too. Rice also fortunately appears to have avoided serious injury after being hit in the left elbow by a pitch on Saturday, which seems to be a day-to-day issue rather than something greater.
Rotisserie-style player to add
Justin Martinez, RP, Arizona Diamondbacks (available in 33.0% of leagues): A.J. Puk’s placement on the IL on Saturday opened the door for Martinez (who signed a five-year, $18 million extension in March) to step back in as the team’s full-time closer. Martinez is off to a stellar start, with two saves, seven shutout innings and 10 strikeouts. Plus, as both his sinker and four-seam fastball regularly touch 100 mph with a splitter that can approach a 50% whiff rate, he has what can be a top-10 fantasy closer’s skill set. He’s well worth adding in all formats, but will be especially valuable in rotisserie play for his saves contributions.
Deeper league pickups
David Festa, SP, Minnesota Twins (available in 97.3% of leagues): One of the Twins’ better young pitchers, Festa has totaled nine innings without allowing an earned run as a fill-in for the injured Pablo Lopez. Lopez’s approaching return puts Festa’s rotation spot in question in the short term, but there’s little question that the 25-year-old is one of the team’s five most talented rotational options, and with the team inclined to give its starters five days’ rest wherever possible, Festa should see a good amount of work out of the team’s rotation. In leagues with deeper benches, it’s worth stashing Festa for what he might provide over the course of the full year.
Austin Hays, OF, Cincinnati Reds (available in 87.6%): He has hit safely in all six games since returning from a calf injury on April 15, totaling three homers and eight RBI, and bear in mind that his Reds make a trip to Colorado’s Coors Field later in the week. Hays’ swing is perfectly suited to his new home environment in Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, and in addition to his recent hot streak, he’s coming off an impressive spring that makes him well worth a fantasy pickup.
Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics (available in 92.5%): Another speculative-add type, Kurtz should soon get an opportunity with an Athletics team that calls home a power-friendly environment that’s perfect for his skill set. That Brent Rooker, typically the big-league club’s DH, has gotten three starts in the outfield over the team’s past eight games, signals the team is attempting to get creative in advance of a potential promotion of the slugging prospect. Kurtz has seven homers and 24 RBI in 20 games for Triple-A Las Vegas — an exceptional performance for a player who has only 32 career professional games to his credit. He’d make an instant impact in those two categories from the moment of his debut. Stash him now before interest in him spikes once the team makes an official move.
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