Andrew Benintendi Day

It’s Andrew Benintendi Day!

The Boston Red Sox have called up the outfielder who started the year in High-A Salem to play he’s not actually playing tonight in Seattle because they’re starting lefty Wade LeBlanc.

But he’s on the Boston Red Sox roster along with their other superstars. He should be up for the long haul. He’s kind of the Red Sox version of Max Kepler, Tyler Naquin, Nomar Mazara; that type of thing.

And as always, here is his scouting report from Baseball Prospectus:

Scouting Report: Benintendi makes things look easy. Despite being no bigger than 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, he generates easy plus bat speed, and his consistent control of his swing along with excellent hands allows him to make hard contact to pitches on every part of the plate. He recognizes pitches well, and though he’s aggressive, he certainly won’t give away at-bats by swinging at pitches out of the zone. There’s also very little swing-and-miss here, as he possesses excellent hand-eye coordination and has a knack for fouling off tough pitches.

Despite his small size, Benintendi also has a great chance to hit for power at the next level, as well. It’s closer to above-average than to plus, but the swing path allows for natural lift, and he generates some leverage with his lower half as well. I wouldn’t expect 30 homer seasons, but 20-plus homer seasons are well within reach. He’s also a plus runner, but if there’s one weakness to his offensive skillset, it’s that he’s not a great base stealer. Yet.

It’d be enough for Benintendi to just be an offensive machine, but he’s pretty good with the glove, too. He gets excellent jumps in the outfield and takes efficient routes, and though the arm is only average, he gets rid of the ball quickly and gets it to the base accurately. Center field is his best position, but he’s going to hold up just fine in whatever corner the Red Sox put him in (assuming that’s what they chose to do).

So remember thy name; Ben-in-ten-di. A good I-talian boy. The game needs more of them.