He’s the consensus number one prospect in baseball, even if he’s only still considered a prospect by technicality. The hype is certainly deserved after he batted .295/.359/.476 in his first 105 MLB at-bats. Since breaking into professional baseball in 2015, he’s had a meteoric rise through the Red Sox system, taking him just 151 minor league games to prove that he was ready for the bigs. In addition to his offensive prowess, he flashed some pretty leather with one of the best catches of the year.
However good Benintendi looked last season, there is still no such thing as a sure thing in baseball. There’s no doubt that he will have to make adjustments and experience times of struggle in his first full season, but the Red Sox will be counting on him to deliver this year. John Farrell’s already talked about batting him second and some projections are expecting him to be an elite outfielder. Time will tell if he’ll be as good as many expect, but he certainly has the talent and determination to do it.
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It may seem as though the Red Sox are playing with house money in his case. If he delivers on the hype, the Red Sox could have three All-Star outfielders with Betts and JBJ. From management’s perspective, it’s going to take a team effort to make up for Ortiz’s lost production. Benintendi will need to be a big part of that effort.