Red Sox: The five top performers of Red Sox spring training thus far
By Jimmy Longo
The early rookie of the year candidate for the American League, Andrew Benintendi is showing continued success off of last season.
Thus far in the Red Sox spring, Benintendi is hitting .409 with two home runs and a 1.298 OPS over 22 at-bats. The 22-year-old’s home runs have come off of starters with heavy velocity this spring, with the first coming off of Baltimore’s Dylan Bundy, and the second off of Atlanta’s Arodys Vizcaino.
More from Red Sox News
- 10 grievances against the Boston Red Sox in honor of Seinfeld holiday Festivus
- Red Sox risk repeating rookie mistake with Eric Hosmer release
- Former MLB All-Star slams Red Sox for ’embarrassing’ treatment of Rafael Devers
- Red Sox invited group of players you’ve probably never heard of to Spring Training
- Jeter Downs’ official departure will continue to haunt Red Sox
Even more so, the bulk he put on in the offseason seems to be playing to the kinds of hits he’s having this spring, and hopefully will be maintainable throughout the course of the year. While obviously it’s unlikely Benintendi will be able to keep up at this pace, six of his nine hits this spring are extra base hits.
After 118 plate appearances culminating in a .295 batting average, Benintendi looks to have continued the momentum from his torrid-paced 2016 and by continuing his strong performance this spring following his late-season call-up, Benintendi could emerge as not only a stalwart of the Red Sox lineup, but one of its biggest run producers as well.
According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Red Sox are playing around with the idea of moving Benintendi into the third spot in the lineup, in order to separate the amount of consecutive righties the Red Sox will have in a row at the heart of the order.