Tampa Bay Rays' Chandler Simpson, Aidan Smith Just Missed Out on MLB Pipeline Top 100

The Tampa Bay Rays are one of very few teams with five top-100 prospects in their farm system, and they very nearly had more.

MLB.com's Ben Weinrib unveiled 10 prospects who just missed out on MLB Pipeline's preseason top 100 rankings in an article published Monday. The Rays had two players make the "just missed" list – outfielders Chandler Simpson and Aidan Smith.

Simpson stole 104 bases between High-A and Double-A this past season, becoming the first player in either the majors or minors to reach the century mark since 2012. The 24-year-old has averaged 143 stolen bases per 162 games in his minor league career thus far, converting on 86.6% of his attempts.

The Rays selected Simpson in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Georgia Tech, by way of the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Through 233 minor league games, he has hit .326 with one home run, 30 doubles, six triples, 63 RBI, 104 walks, 91 strikeouts and a .768 OPS.

In a poll conducted by MLB Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo earlier this offseason, executives landed on Simpson as the prospect with the best speed tool across all of the minor leagues. He finished 2024 as the No. 4 prospect in Tampa Bay's system.

Smith, who was ranked No. 9 among Rays prospects at the end of last season, came over from the Seattle Mariners at the 2024 deadline. He was the centerpiece of the Randy Arozarena return package, one year removed from getting taken in the fourth round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

Across 97 games of Single-A action last year, Smith hit .288 with 11 home runs, 33 doubles, 53 RBI, 41 stolen bases and an .874 OPS. The 20-year-old will have to prove himself at the upper levels, but he has shown solid promise as a potential five-tool prospect thus far.

The five Rays prospects who did make the top 100 were shortstop Carson Williams, first baseman Xavier Isaac, infielder Brayden Taylor, first baseman Tre' Morgan and outfielder Theo Gillen. Williams came in at No. 9 overall, followed by Isaac at No. 51, Taylor at No. 67, Morgan at No. 94 and Gillen at No. 99.

Williams, Isaac, Taylor, Morgan and Simpson have all been invited to Tampa Bay's big league spring training camp. They will report to Charlotte County, Florida, in time for the first full-squad workouts on Feb. 16.