Simpson's Statcast page is full of blue. So how is he hitting .308?

In a baseball landscape dominated by exit velocity and barrel rates, you could be forgiven for overlooking a player with zero career home runs in 946 career plate appearances.

But then you'd be ignoring Chandler Simpson, one of the most electric –- and unique –- hitters in MLB today.

The Rays left fielder owns a .308/.336/.361 slash line across 125 games this season to go along with 35 steals and only 42 strikeouts –- the fewest of any qualified batter in the AL. He sits second in the AL in average and steals, while his 144 hits rank fourth (teammates Yandy Díaz (152) and Junior Caminero (142) are also in the top five).

Simpson has been even better in the second half. His .380 batting average since Aug. 1 is second best among qualified players, behind only Orioles slugger Pete Alonso (.398), while his .377 average since the All-Star break is second only to the Guardians' Steven Kwan (.384). If Simpson finishes August strong, he could become the third Rays player this season to hit better than .370 in a calendar month (min. 75 PA). Díaz hit .385 in June, and Jonathan Aranda hit .374 in May.

What’s even more impressive, and unusual, is how Simpson does it.

Take a quick look at his Baseball Savant page, and you’ll see something virtually no other player on the MLB offensive leaderboards displays: a whole lot of blue.

Simpson ranks in the first percentile (i.e. the lowest) in: xwOBA (.262), xSLG (.293), average exit velocity (83.8), barrel percentage (0.0), hard-hit rate (13.4), LA Sweet-Spot % (26.1) and bat speed (64.9 mph). He also does not walk much, ranking in the fifth percentile with a 4.6 percent walk rate.

So how does Simpson bat over .300? It’s simple, really. He makes contact –- a lot. His 42.3% squared-up rate is in the 100th percentile. And he doesn’t swing and miss, with 99th-percentile whiff (10.2) and strikeout (8.4) rates.

Simpson isn’t shy about knowing what he’s good at. Asked what has led to his recent hot stretch, the 25-year-old said, “Continuing to stay within myself, know my toolset. Continue to use the big part of the field, and just take it one pitch at a time.”

Once he gets to first, Simpson is also a menace on the basepaths, boasting a 95th-percentile 29.5 mph sprint speed and a 100th-percentile baserunning run value of seven. His speed has also helped him collect six triples, tied for the lead in the AL.

“Chandler’s a big part of [our offense],” said manager Kevin Cash. “He’s so versatile in his role, and I also think when you’ve got some guys in the middle [of the lineup] that are having great years but they’re a little bit quiet, maybe [Simpson] gets on base, pitcher takes the attention off of [the batter] and has to focus on Chandler, and then we get a better pitch to hit.”

And Simpson is doing it all while playing a very strong left field, with seven outs above average (93rd percentile).

Barring a slump over the final five weeks of the season, Simpson will join Díaz as the only Rays batters to hit .300 or better in a qualified season over the past four seasons. Díaz hit .300 last season, and .330 in 2023.

Simpson’s ascension has been a key to the Rays’ success this season, helping stake Tampa Bay to an AL-best 79-54 record entering Thursday. The Rays lead all teams in average (.260) and have the fewest strikeouts (930) by a solid margin.

“The greatest thing about [Simpson] is he knows exactly who he is,” said starter Drew Rasmussen. “I’m sure there are times he wants to pull the ball in the air for a homer, and who doesn't, right? Hitting homers is cool. But, no, he knows exactly who he is.

“He knows exactly what this group needs him to do, and that’s to be on base, that is to cause chaos. That is to have a high on-base percentage, steal bases and be in scoring position consistently for the guys behind him. And he's done that at an unbelievable clip this year.”

Simpson –- who has batted throughout the order but primarily first, fifth and sixth -- gives length to an already potent lineup while taking pressure off Díaz, Caminero, Aranda and others to produce.

But it all starts with the speedster Simpson, who has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon.