FOND DU LAC, WI – Former Fond du Lac Dock Spiders infielder Chandler Simpson was selected in the second round with the 70th pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Sunday night.
Simpson becomes the highest Dock Spiders player ever drafted, surpassing outfielder John Rhodes, who was selected in the third round with the 76th overall pick by the Baltimore Orioles in 2021.
With the Dock Spiders in 2021, Simpson was named the Northwoods League co-MVP and set the NWL single-season record with 55 stolen bases. Simpson was named a 2021 Northwoods League Mid-Season and Postseason All-Star and became the first Dock Spiders to win a most valuable player award from the NWL. He hit .378/.429/.402 over 51 games and struck out just 10 times in 226 plate appearances. Simpson set the single-season franchise record for hits (77), runs (52), and stolen bases. He ranks top-10 for the Dock Spiders in single-season average (.377), at-bats (204), and on-base percentage (.429).
Simpson, who spent this past year with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets after transferring from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, was named a 2022 ABCA/Rawlings, Perfect Game, and D1Baseball All-American. This spring, he led the nation with a .434 batting average to go along with 27 stolen bases.
Throughout franchise history (since 2017), 21 Dock Spiders have been selected in the MLB Draft, with current Dock Spiders catcher Nick Fortes being the first Dock Spider to reach the major leagues in 2021 with the Miami Marlins.
The 2022 MLB Draft started on Sunday night with the first round, two first-round Compensation Picks, Competitive Balance Round A, Round 2, Competitive Balance Round B, and six second-round Compensation Picks. The Draft continues today with Rounds three through 10 on MLB.com starting at 1:00 p.m. CT and concludes on Tuesday, July 19 with the final 10 rounds on MLB.com at 1:00 p.m. CT.
The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 28th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, over 280 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (NYM), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. League games are viewable live at watchnwl.com. For more information, visit dockspiders.com download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Dock Spiders as your favorite team.
