MANKATO — Mankato MoonDogs manager Mike Orchard has heard plenty of college athletes talk about how they would like to take a redshirt season to work out, getting bigger, faster and stronger.

But he’s also seen that actions don’t always follow the words.

However, when Chase Simpson told Orchard last summer that after transferring from Oklahoma to Wichita State and would redshirt to improve his body and his skills, Orchard knew that Simpson would use that year wisely.

“He’s very diligent about the game and his body,” Orchard said. “At this level, strength, conditioning and nutrition are big keys to success. He’s one of the kids that understands that. When he texted me in March or April that he’d added 15 pounds of muscle, it didn’t surprise me at all.”

The bigger and stronger Simpson, an infielder with the MoonDogs, has already seen the results of his hard work. Through Sunday, Simpson had already hit five home runs in 17 games, a pace that would put him near the team record.

In the last four seasons, only one MoonDogs player has hit 10 or more homers, and that was Shaun Cooper, who had a team-record 20 in 2011.

Simpson said he worked out with weights six days per week during his redshirt year and did some hitting almost every day.

“You can’t take a day off,” he said. “I guess I feel more confident. The park feels a little smaller.”

Simpson, the only returning player this season for the MoonDogs, batted .307 with 14 doubles and three home runs, driving in 26 runs in 163 at-bats last summer. Through 59 at-bats this season, the infielder is hitting .271 but has three doubles, a triple and 11 RBIs.

“He’s a hitter,” Orchard said. “That’s his thing.”

Simpson has played mostly on the right side of the infield, though he’d rather be at shortstop or third base, where he’ll be playing at Wichita State. But he’s not one to complain.

“(Orchard) knows I’m versatile, and I’m a guy who will make sacrifices for the benefit of getting someone else in the lineup,” Simpson said. “Wherever I am, I try to make the best plays I can make.”

Simpson was happy to be back in Mankato this summer. Given his nomadic baseball career, he was glad to return to the host family of Jessica Kuryla and Barry Werk and the familiarity of the Northwoods League.

He’s also happy to help out his new teammates with any questions they might have about the league or the local restaurants and sporting goods stores.

“I like being a shoulder for other people to lean on,” Simpson said. “Whatever I can do to help, that’s what I want to do.”

Simpson said he needs to continue to work on defense and base-running this summer in order to catch a scout’s eye. He’s hoping that the work he did during the redshirt season will play off, the rest of the summer and next season at Wichita State.

“My expectations are for the results to continue,” he said. “I’ve focused on what I want to achieve, and did what I had to do to make it happen.”