With the way that outfield prospect Andrew Benintendi is playing, the Boston Red Sox may not be able to keep him in the minors for much longer.
You hear that? That’s the sound of Benintendi’s bat hitting the MLB door. It’s much louder right now than was previously expected, but not that surprising. The question is whether Boston would be right to answer the door this year or to wait for it to get even louder.
Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reported that “the seventh-overall pick in the 2015 draft, went hitless in his first Double-A game Monday. But the highly-touted 21-year-old went 2-for-3 with a double, walk and two RBIs and one run in Portland’s 5-3 win over New Hampshire.” The lefty bat and arm is only 21 years of age, yet he has moved quickly through the minors. He started this season in Class A (Advanced) with Salem, but he only played 34 games, hitting .341/.413/.563 with a home run and 32 RBIs, before being moved up to the Portland Sea Dogs. He also earned 13 doubles, seven triples, and eight stolen bases, showing off his offensive speed.
Defensively, Benintendi showed off the same speed, posting a 3.27 range factor in the outfield. At only 5’10”, the 170-pounder is light on his feet but can crank the ball and flash the glove with the best of them.
That’s all great; that’s also all been said before. What does that have to do with the current Red Sox outfield?
Nobody is disputing the Red Sox being the kings of runs scored, this season. They have 240 runs scored, the second highest total coming from the Chicago Cubs with 218. It’s the same with RBIs (229 to 207). The issue comes when you look at the outfielders, alone.
Center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. is on an absolute tear, having a hit streak of over 20 games and hitting .338 for the season. Whether his streak is sustainable, we’ll hold our collective breaths, considering his past troubles at the plate. Right fielder Mookie Betts is the next best outfielder at the plate, hitting .262 with a .311 on-base percentage from the leadoff spot in the lineup.
After those two men, it’s not hard to find the gaping hole that isn’t producing: it’s in left field. The platoon of Brock Holt and Chris Young have combined for four home runs and 24 RBIs in 163 at-bats. Bradley Jr. has seven homers and 32 RBIs while Betts has the same amount of home runs and drove in 28 RBIs, thus far. Holt, getting the bulk of the at-bats, has hit just .239. Young has hit .260, being used only when there is a lefty pitcher on the mound.
Red Sox manager John Farrell has taken heat for using Young in such a manner; however, since that anger isn’t publicly coming from the Red Sox brass, then the trust level with Young facing righty pitching isn’t there, at least not yet.
It’s not about the fact that the Red Sox score runs as much as the fact that they could be scoring them from every part of their lineup. Holt and Young look like easier outs, compared to many of the other bats in the lineup.
Then, there is Benintendi. He’s only in Double-A, and he’s already making Red Sox Nation drool with anticipation, the likes of which suggest that Fenway Park should hand out towels to wipe up the moisture coming from the mouths of the faithful fans. If he can produce in the big leagues, like he has in the minors, Holt could return to his spot as the All-Star utility player and Young could get pretty used to sitting on the bench.
That’s if the Red Sox didn’t shellshock the boy by bringing him up too early and ruining his progression.
Yet, Benintendi’s bat hasn’t so much progressed as much as it has skyrocketed up the minor league system. MLB.com currently has him at 22nd on their top prospects list, with the chances of that changing being quite certain, as they also have Red Sox prospect Rafael Devers ranked 14th with a .201 batting average in Salem, the same place that Benintendi shined and was promoted from in the same short period of time.
If the Red Sox promote Benintendi to Triple-A at some point this season, all eyes will be on him, especially the ones in Boston. If the Red Sox are in a position to make a push for the playoffs, Benintendi may be in those plans, even if he’s just an extra bat. Yes, the pressure would be on him. The pressure has already been on this kid since he was drafted. People have seen this kid’s potential. If he can show that he can do it in the fall, Benintendi may just be along for the ride to claim his throne in the outfield, whether it be in 2016 or 2017.
Then, the only trouble will be figuring where he would play defensively. Center? Right? Left? At this point, Benintendi probably wouldn’t mind anything, as long as he could deliver on his potential in that big spotlight known as Major League Baseball.