Red Sox: Andrew Benintendi working to avoid the sophomore slump
The second-year outfielder got off to a slow start at the plate, but he is finally warming up. Can the Red Sox rely on him to continue to improve?
Andrew Benintendi came to spring training with the Boston Red Sox looking like a completely different person. It was not just the hair, but Benintendi bulked up for this season.
His hot start in spring training made expectations shoot through the roof. Many believed that he could be the best bat not named JD Martinez for the Red Sox. But a slow start to the season tempered expectations for the second-year outfielder.
Flash forward to today and Benintendi is starting to look like the player we thought he could be. Yes, Benintendi’s on-base percentage was never an issue. He leads the team in walks and despite hitting only .267, he has an OBP of .384.
Benintendi scuffled at the plate until the New York Yankees series when he finally got hot. He has eleven hits since the beginning of that series and that includes missing two games for rest in between.
Thursday night against the Los Angeles Angels, he finally hit his first home run of the season.
Andrew Benintendi has joined the home run party in L.A. pic.twitter.com/hxfvObThd2
— NESN (@NESN) April 20, 2018
So could this be a springboard for him to launch his season in full effect?
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Sometimes all it takes is one home run to get things going. That was certainly the case for Martinez. Until he hit his first home run, he was struggling a bit. Once he went yard, the homers came in bunches, as did the hits. Martinez is now hitting .338 with four home runs and 15 RBI, erasing any memory of his sluggish first week in a Red Sox uniform. Benintendi can heat up just as quickly.
The Red Sox need a huge year from Benintendi. They have gotten off to their 16-2 start even with him having a slow start. If he can truly get going for the Red Sox, that gives them another power bat that can also hit for a solid average.
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