Let the Andrew Benintendi era begin in Boston.
On Monday, after the Boston Red Sox were unable to make a trade for a left-fielder before the trade deadline, they decided to promote highly touted outfield prospect Andrew Benintendi to the majors. He will join the team in Seattle on Tuesday, but will likely make his first start on Wednesday, according to manager John Farrell. Farrell also indicated that he would likely platoon in left field with Bryce Brentz.
Benintendi was taken just a year ago seventh overall in the 2015 MLB Draft by Boston. His stock rose after a dominant career at the University of Arkansas, where the 22-year-old won the Golden Spikes Award for the best college baseball player in the nation. Previous successful players to win the award include Kris Bryant, Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, Buster Posey, David Price, Tim Lincecum, Alex Gordon, and Will Clark. In 2015 he led the Southeastern Conference in batting average (.380), home runs (19), on-base percentage (.489), slugging percentage (.715), and walks (47).
Benintendi will be promoted straight from Double-A Portland to Boston, and will not see time with the Pawtucket Red Sox. President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski has hinted for some time that the outfielder would play in the majors this season, and here he is being called up in early August. Benintendi is ranked as the No. 7 prospect in baseball according to MLB.com.
Benintendi's short time in the minors
As soon as the Red Sox drafted the Ohio native with the seventh overall pick, they knew they had something special. He began his professional career with the Greenville Drive, where it took him just 19 games to be promoted once again. In those games, he hit .351 with four homers, 16 RBIs, and 17 runs.
He finished the 2015 season with the Lowell Spinners, where he continued to swing the bat extremely well. He played 35 games, connecting with seven homers and 15 RBIs to go along with a .290 batting average in 124 at-bats. Overall in 2015, playing with both Greenville and Lowell, he hit .313 with 11 homers and 31 RBIs in 54 games.
To start off 2016, Benintendi moved on up to the Class-A Advanced Salem Red Sox. He continued to dominate, though his power dipped a bit. He had a .341 batting average in 34 games with just one home run and 32 RBIs. However, it did not take the 22-year-old much time to move up to the Portland Sea Dogs, as he joined the team on May 16th.
While in Portland, along with Red Sox top prospect Yoan Moncada, he was named to the Futures Game in San Diego. He played for Team USA, where he led off and went 0-3. His teammate, Moncada, hit a home run and won MVP as Team World went on to win 11-3. Moncada and Benintendi have been teammates for some time in the minors, and will look to become teammates in Boston for years to come.
Finishing off his minor league career with the Sea Dogs, Benintendi had a .295 batting average with eight homers and 44 RBIs in 63 games. His minor league career was nothing short of spectacular, and he will look to continue his dominance in the big leagues.
Benintendi's fit in Boston
Benintendi will begin his career with a contending team, as the Red Sox are 58-46. As of now, Boston is one game behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East, but hold a 1.5 game lead over the Detroit Tigers for a wild-card spot. The Red Sox had lots of struggles to end July but had two thrilling victories on both Sunday and Monday to jump out of their skid.
Benintendi will join a young Red Sox outfield that already features two all-stars. Mookie Betts has had an MVP-caliber season with Boston, as the right fielder is hitting .306 with 22 homers, 70 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases in 102 games. Betts is still incredibly just 23 years old. In center-field, Boston has one of the best defensive centerfielders in the game in Jackie Bradley Jr. However, to go along with his stellar defense, Bradley has enjoyed success at the plate for the first time in his major league career. Through April and May, he tallied the longest hit streak in the majors so far this season at 29 games. Although he struggled in June, the first time all-star is still hitting a solid .293 with 17 homers and 62 RBIs.
Left-field has been the biggest gap in the Red Sox lineup, but Benintendi will hope to fix that. Chris Young and Blake Swihart both remain injured, but Brock Holt and Bryce Brentz have not been reliable options in left-field. Benintendi has played center field most of his career, but the Red Sox organization does not have any doubts that he will perform well in left field.
Not only does the outfield feature young talent, but the Red Sox have players with high potential throughout the organization. Xander Bogaerts headlines that list, as the 23-year-old is hitting .326 with 14 homers in 102 games this season. Moncada is perhaps the most hyped Red Sox prospect yet, as the Cuban sensation is the No. 2 prospect in baseball. Though it is unknown if he will transform into a full-time third baseman, Moncada continues to perform well in the minor leagues. Rafael Devers is another highly touted prospect, as the third baseman was ranked the No. 23 prospect in baseball.
On the pitching side, to go along with the young Eduardo Rodriguez who is already in the majors, Boston has 2016 first-round selection Jason Groome (No. 40 prospect) and hard-throwing right-hander Michael Kopech (No. 81 prospect) in the minors. Also, guys like David Price, Dustin Pedroia, and Hanley Ramirez are all under Boston's control through 2019.
Stay tuned, there could be a dynasty in the making in Boston.