Jansen homers in 1st Rays AB -- and how about that catch from Simpson?

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- It didn’t take long for Danny Jansen to make some noise with his new club this spring.

In the second inning of Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the Red Sox, the Rays’ backstop hit a line-drive home run over the left-center-field fence at Charlotte Sports Park in his first at-bat of camp. The homer came on a 1-2 count off of starter Quinn Priester, and it didn’t take very long to leave the ballpark.

“It definitely felt good,” Jansen said. “[I’ve] been working on being calm in the box. First game, definitely had some pregame jitters and was excited to be out there. So, yeah. That’s great. Looking to build off it. Just maintaining and just being quiet in the box for me has been huge.”

Jansen, who was signed to a one-year, $8.5 million deal in December, said he used his prior experience against Priester to wait for his pitch -- a sinker middle-in that he didn’t miss.

“I got to two strikes, [Priester] threw a slider for a ball, and then I tried to look for something out over [the plate] and pulled the trigger on it,” Jansen said.

Rays manager Kevin Cash, who pointed out earlier this spring that Jansen will be leaned on, said, “Yeah, that was awesome. [He] gets a hold of one nice. Knocks it out of the ballpark. Got the crowd into it a little bit.”

While the defensive side of things and learning his staff are always at the top of the list for Jansen, he said his prowess at the plate is “1A” in his preparation.

“Over the years I’ve given myself more time to work on hitting,” Jansen said. “[Defense] still takes precedence in my mind, but also, finding time to do some offensive stuff and make yourself right is huge, too.”

The first few weeks of camp have proved to be a positive experience for Jansen, especially when it comes to learning his new teammates.

“It’s been great working with the guys,” said the 29-year-old. “The first couple weeks having them understand me and kind of what makes me tick. I’m not shy to communicate that with them. They’re awesome. It’s been nice working with them and picking other guys' brains in the clubhouse. Looking to keep getting better and maintain my approach.”

Jansen hung around in the dugout after his afternoon was done, not typically the norm with players in Spring Training, chatting it up with teammates and coaches.

“He cares a lot, and he’s already shown that,” Cash said. “His mind for the game, I mean, look, he can pick our brain, but he’s also done so much already in this game that we can pick his.

“It was just a good conversation.”

Simpson catch
Rays prospect Chandler Simpson can fly, and on Saturday afternoon the 24-year-old flew through the air in the seventh inning to make a spectacular catch.

Simpson, playing center field, robbed Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer of what was sure to be extra bases as he chased down a ball in the left-center gap, fully extended, and trapped the ball in the webbing of his glove.

In case you were wondering if Simpson was excited about the catch, the Rays’ No. 4 prospect hopped up to his feet and unleashed a wicked fist pump before tossing the ball back in.

“I’ve been working hard in center,” Simpson said when asked about his reaction to the catch. “Just to see the work come out in the game got me hyped.”

Quite possibly the fastest player in pro ball, Simpson swiped 104 bags last season and led all full-season Minor Leaguers in batting average, hitting .355.

He’ll likely break camp with Triple-A Durham, but don’t be shocked if you see the player dubbed “Little Tony Gwynn” get the call up to the Majors sooner rather than later.

To go along with his spectacular catch, Simpson recorded a single and scored a run Saturday afternoon.

“He’s fun to watch,” Cash said. “I know he’s working on his jumps and getting his speed to match up with the amount of ground he can cover. He’s put a lot of work in with [first-base coach] Michael Johns and [outfield and baserunning coordinator] Jared Sandberg. It’s really nice to see him have some early success. If the speed begins to match, it’s game-changing. What he does on the bases, he’s fun.”