In a Spring Training game, Tampa Bay Rays prospect Chandler Simpson hit his first career over-the-fence home run during a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Charlotte Sports Park. The seventh-inning two-run shot off Dan Altavilla proved to be the game-winner. Teammates celebrated enthusiastically, marking a rare power display for the speedster.
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- During the Tampa Bay Rays' 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Sports Park, outfielder Chandler Simpson pulled a first-pitch slider from reliever Dan Altavilla just over the right-field fence in the seventh inning. The ball bounced off the boardwalk, securing a go-ahead two-run homer that initially appeared as a double before being ruled a home run on review. Simpson stopped at second base initially, confirming it cleared. He said afterward: “I knew it cleared. I saw it hit the wood, but I stopped at second just to make sure. So when they waved their finger around, I'm like, 'Oh, yeah, I gotta jog, hit the Cami celebration and enjoy it.'” After rounding the bases, Simpson celebrated with third-base coach Brady Williams and mimicked Junior Caminero's signature home run ritual, receiving high fives and a helmet slap from Caminero before a dugout line. Rays manager Kevin Cash remarked, grinning: “That was pretty cool. Dugout erupted.” Simpson's power is unusual; he hit only one college home run—a grand slam on Feb. 25, 2022, against Gardner-Webb at Georgia Tech that deflected off the right fielder's glove—and one minor-league homer, an inside-the-park shot for Double-A Montgomery on June 7, 2024. Known for elite speed (scouted as 90-grade speed and 10-grade power), the exit velocity was 99.1 mph with a 22-degree launch angle. Simpson kept the ball and plans calls to family. On future power: “Hell nah. Nah, nah, nah, nah. I was really just trying to hit the ball to shortstop still, and then it just so happened I hit that.” Simpson noted everyone's shock and joy.