He walked into the batting cage at Hadlock Field Monday afternoon, and you might have wondered who the kid was; because the slim, boyish-looking Andrew Benintendi, barely standing 5-foot-10, looked ready for a high school game.
Until you saw him swing.
Smooth, seemingly effortless, but so strong with his left-handed cuts. Benintendi lined ball after ball to various parts of Hadlock.
“Watch him while you can,” said one scout, who also witnessed the batting practice.
Translation: Benintendi is hitting his way to Fenway Park. He is the latest in a number of prime Red Sox prospects that are considered “can’t miss” when talking about the big leagues.
Never mind that Benintendi is only 21, drafted just last season by Boston, he is headed to the majors. It is just a matter of when.
Maybe that’s bold talk about a player who made his Double-A debut Monday with the Portland Sea Dogs (he was 0 for 4). But consider how fast he got here, only 34 games into his first, full professional season. He arrived in Portland quicker than previous prospects named Ellsbury and Bradley Jr.
Benintendi’s rapid rise has been extraordinary.
“I’ve heard that from people, but I’m not going to think about it,” Benintendi said.
Others think about it, especially after Benintendi tore up the advanced Class A Carolina League, batting .341, with a .413 on-base percentage and .563 slugging average (.976 OPS) for the Salem (Virginia) Red Sox. He hit one home run and showed gap power – 13 doubles and seven triples – and was clutch (32 RBI). He struck out only eight times with 15 walks.
Benintendi’s arrival in Portland has been anticipated for weeks. Benintendi remained patient.
“I wasn’t that curious. I was going to trust the people who make those decisions,” he said.
Those people finally decided it was time to move him up.
“Andrew shows an advanced approach at the plate with a good feel for the strike zone,” Red Sox Director of Player Development Ben Crockett said. “He has shown the ability to make adjustments at-bat to at-bat and pitch to pitch.”
“He’s done a nice job defensively in center field and he runs the bases well (eight steals in 10 attempts).”
So, is Benintendi ahead of schedule?
“I don’t think we had a specific timetable in mind, to be ahead or behind,” Crockett said.
The only Red Sox prospect to reach Portland faster was Dustin Pedroia, who began his first full pro season at Hadlock Field, in 2005.
The majors this year?
Pedroia played less than three months in Portland before heading to Triple-A Pawtucket. He might have made it to Fenway that year but was slowed by a wrist injury in Pawtucket after being hit by a pitch.
If Benintendi remains healthy, how far can he go?
To think big is to think Michael Conforto. A first-round draft pick by the Mets in 2014, out of Oregon State, Conforto began 2015 in advanced Class A. Then he was with Double-A Binghamton. Conforto was in the New York outfield by July 24. Three months later, he was batting .333 in the World Series.
Now that’s a rapid rise. Don’t bother asking Benintendi about any thoughts of his path.
“I’m just going to play my hardest, and play as well as I can,” he said.
Not every organization rushes its prospects, no matter how well they are playing. Chicago Cubs first-round pick Kris Bryant (2013) dominated both Double-A and Triple-A in 2014, with a combined .325 average/1.098 OPS. But the Cubs weren’t contending, so why rush?
What will the Red Sox do if they remain in contention? Boston’s lineup is already relentless, but could a hot left-handed bat help a playoff push, or even in the postseason?
Of course, Benintendi has to keep producing even to cause such a conversation.
Hard work and a fortunate birthday
Benintendi drew some attention from scouts when he played high school ball in Cincinnati in 2013. The Reds drafted him in the 31st round that year, thinking he might give up his Arkansas scholarship to play for the hometown organization.
“At that point in my career and life, I wasn’t ready to make that jump,” Benintendi said. “Going to college in Arkansas for two years really prepared me for this.”
As a freshman, Benintendi, maybe weighing 170 pounds, was a singles hitter for the Razorbacks. He batted .276, with a .368 on-base percentage and .333 slugging average (.701 OPS), with one home run.
“I was hitting leadoff,” Benintendi said. “I was trying to get on base and not worry about how I got on base.”
The summer after his freshman year became a turning point. Instead of playing in a summer league, Benintendi stayed on campus for conditioning.
“I had an injury. I was trying to get that better,” he said. “I worked out and put on some weight (10 pounds).”
Then came a lineup change.
“My sophomore year, they moved me to the three-hole and I tried to start driving the ball,” Benintendi said. “And, with the added weight and strength I put on, that really helped.”
Helped? Here are Benintendi’s sophomore statistics: .376/.488/.717 (1.205), with 20 home runs. He received the Golden Spikes Award, college baseball’s equivalent to the Heisman Trophy.
Normally, college sophomores are not eligible for the Major League draft. But an exception is made for older players who turn 21 before the signing deadline for drafted players
Benintendi was born July 6, 1994. Like many parents of children born in the summer, Benintendi’s had to decide when Andrew would start school – early as one of the youngest kids in the class, or later as one of the oldest. They chose the latter.
That meant Benintendi turned 21 shortly after his sophomore year – and was eligible for the 2015 draft.
Boston, after another last-place finish in 2014, held the seventh overall pick.
The Red Sox chose, signing him with a $3.6 million bonus.
“It started to become more and more evident – really as Andrew started to perform very, very well – that he could work his way (up in the draft),” Red Sox amateur scouting director Mike Rikard said at the time. “Andrew really earned that by really just making people take notice and performing as well as he did.”
His performance continued in the pros. Playing for short-season Lowell and the low Class A Greenville, Benintendi batted a combined .313 (.972 OPS) with 11 home runs in 54 games.
His Lowell manager, Joe Oliver, became the Salem manager this year.
“He’s a good-working kid,” Oliver said. “It just translates into the way he takes his job seriously.”
On Sunday night, Oliver and Crockett told Benintendi he was being promoted.
“They called me in,” Benintendi said, “and said ‘you’re going up to Portland. Just keep doing what you’re doing.’ “
That would work, in Portland and beyond.
KevinThomas can be reached at 791-6411 or:
kthomas@pressherald.com
Twitter: @ClearTheBases
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