Andrew Benintendi Needs More Development Before MLB Consideration

By: Forrest Mulheron

The best Red Sox prospect since Dustin Pedroia? Let's not get ahead of ourselves. 

Despite being the third quickest Red Sox prospect behind Pedroia and Jackie Bradley Jr. to earn his Double-A promotion, any talk of Andrew Benintendi reaching the big leagues this season is premature. 

Benintendi was promoted to Double-A Portland last week, the fourth level of professional baseball he has reached since being drafted by Boston seventh overall not even a full year ago. While fans have every reason to be excited after he hit .316/.406/.543 with 12 home runs and 65 RBIs through his first 92 professional games, Double-A is where many players begin to face their first adversity and Benintendi should be no different. 

The 21-year old Cincinnati-native has gone hitless in three of his first four Double-A contests after failing to collect a base knock in only six of 34 games with Salem. In fact, his 2-for-15 slump since joining the Sea Dogs is the worst of his young career since going 0-for-15 over five games with the Lowell Spinners shortly after being drafted last July.

That is no reason for Red Sox fans to panic, however.

It is no secret that baseball is a game of adjustments and this will serve as the perfect opportunity for Benintendi to demonstrate that he can make the changes needed to become a success Major League ball player. It makes far more sense for Benintendi to work through this struggles at the Minor League level rather than under the bright lights of Fenway Park where young players can easily have their confidence shattered (see Cla Meredith in 2005.)

It would be one thing if the Red Sox were playing poorly or riddled with injuries. However, even with Brock Holt on the 7-day disabled list due to concussion symptoms, Boston still has plenty of options such as Blake Swihart, Chris Young, Rusney Castillo or even Bryce Brentz. They might not be the best outfield options in the game, but with the Red Sox leading or near the top in every offensive category in the American League there is absolutely no need to rush any sort of roster move. 

Expect Benintendi to heat up as spring turns to summer and the weather warms up. He has already shown that the leap from college to professional baseball was no issue for him (noting that the change from metal to wooden bats was his biggest challenge) and with a little time the leap from Single-A to Double-A should be no different. 

But with the Red Sox playing well and having plenty of outfield depth to hold them over this season, there is no reason to rush Benintendi to the majors - let the young man finish his development and fine tune the skills that will hopefully make him a Major League superstar for years to come. 

When Can We Start Worrying About David Price?

After allowing six runs in back-to-back starts against the New York Yankees, many Red Sox fans are left asking the same question - when can we start worrying about David Price? 

Historically, Price has been a slow starter as evidenced by his 4.08 ERA in the months of March and April versus a 2.99 ERA for all other months combined. What has been most alarming for Sox fans, however, is an overall lack of command and velocity.

Price's fastball barely touched 93 MPH on Saturday, a big difference from the 95-96 MPH fans were expecting when the Red Sox inked the southpaw to a $217 million contract. The dip in velocity has allowed opponents to take better advantage of his mistakes leading to an increase in hard contact as well as walks. Price's 2.9 BB/9 ratio is his highest since 2010 and his 1.379 WHIP is the highest of his career.

“I feel like the more velocity that you have, the more mistakes you get away with,” Price stated after the game. “Right now, I’m not getting away with mistakes or good pitches, for that matter. That’s part of it. They hit some good pitches today.”

Although both Price and Red Sox manager John Farrell have said that physically there is nothing wrong, one can't help but wonder what is causing such a drastic change. Sure it is early in the season, but according to RedSoxStats.com his hardest thrown fastball of 93.54 MPH yesterday was the lowest in a game in his entire career. 

Pitching coach Carl Willis hinted that perhaps the velocity will return, as it is common for power pitchers to get better as the year goes on and the weather warms up. Price's average game-time temperature has been 55.14 degrees, which isn't exactly ideal but doesn't explain such a huge loss in velocity, either.

“[The difference] is something I’ve got to figure out," Price explained. "That’s something I definitely take pride in and feel like I’ve done extremely well throughout my career - being able to make adjustments on the fly, whether it’s pitch-to-pitch or game-to-game or day-to-day."

Red Sox fans can only hope Price can make those adjustments and get back to the dominance he built his reputation on. After back-to-back losses to the Yankees and some glaring red flags from a physical stand point, fans have every right to be worried.