Rays' Chandler Simpson: Making spring debut

Simpson (hamstring) is starting in left field and batting sixth in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 25-year-old is making his first start of spring training Friday after recovering from left hamstring tightness. Simpson showed off his two-category upside in 109 games as a rookie last season with a .295 batting average and 44 stolen bases, but his stats were otherwise underwhelming with 53 runs scored, 26 RBI and no home runs.