Prospect debuts
Fans have a tendency to get excited about top prospects getting their first taste of big league action and this year was no exception, with two of the best in Boston’s farm system making their major league debuts this season.
Outfielder Andrew Benintendi made his first appearance as a pinch-hitter on August 2. It was an uneventful 0-for-2 debut for the 22-year old, but he would follow with a pair of hits in his first start as the new left fielder the next day.
Benintendi hit .324 in 21 games that month, while flashing impressive leather in the field, before a knee injury put him on the shelf for a few weeks. He would return in mid-September to give the Red Sox a boost down the stretch and proved to be one of the top threats in the lineup during their brief postseason experience, hitting .333 with a homer in the ALDS.
As the top ranked prospect in baseball, Yoan Moncada‘s arrival came with significantly more hype, but the 21-year old from Cuba didn’t live up to those expectations right out of the gate. Moncada made his debut on September 2, drawing a walk that led to a run and also striking out in a blowout win in Oakland.
Initially it seemed that Moncada would take the league by storm, collecting four hits in his first ten at-bats. Except it didn’t take long for opposing pitchers to figure out that the young infielder remains baffled by breaking balls. Pitchers exposed the holes in Moncada’s swing by feeding him a steady diet of curves and sliders outside of the zone. After striking out in nine consecutive plate appearances, Moncada received a permanent spot on the bench to ride out the rest of the season.
With Moncada having since been traded away, it’s Benintendi who will shine as Boston’s Rookie of the Year candidate in 2017.