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.¡±