How likely is it that he's going to retain his eligibility to be Rookie of the Year next year? Do postseason at bats count towards the 130 limit?
Benintendi talk
- Thread starter soxhop411
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He's 26 and in the peak of his career. He isn't really likely to improve with the bat or the glove. The only reason to think that would be reasonable is if he got like 25 at bats vs lefties one year and 475 vs R.
Looking closer at Travis Shaw's numbers:
2015 Home: 119ab, .319/.364/.588 Road: 107 ab .224/.294/.383
2016 Home: 194ab, .299/.363/.526 Road: 170 ab .224/.285/.394
Also, in regards to the ROY rule, is it really 130 at bats as it is written in the rule books or is it 130 plate appearances?
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I don't know why people think he's not likely to improve. He's just hitting the very beginning of his peak years. His career trajectory should still be upwards. He's not going to be George Brett, but he should improve from where he's at now. I'm certainly not going to the wall on this, but I find it hard to believe that most people here (or in the Red Sox organization) think that right now he's as good as he's ever going to be.
No idea.
His strikeout rate was 23% last year, this year it is at 25%, although his walk rate is at 8% to last years 7%. I also added his home/road splits in the previous post which are kind of eye dropping. He has actually been quite consistent of late though, hovering in between that .770-.800 OPS range. He doesn't have that one excellent skill that Kevin Youkilis had, and in today's game Youkilis probably would have broke some top 100 or even top 50 lists despite his age and lack of power.
There was also reason to believe that Youkilis actually would hit 15-20 HRs a year, and some scouts suggested as much iirc. I also have this theory that players of Youkilis's ilk that actually make the majors always tend to post abysmal slugging numbers in the lower minors because they aren't swinging at crap. There isn't really any reason to think that Shaw will hit for more power like Youkilis, especially since his ISO is already at a healthy .200.
There isn't any one area in his game that he is likely to improve at all that significantly. He is what he is, a slightly above average regular that shouldn't face lefties and may benefit greatly from playing in Fenway Park.
i feel like someone can come up with a better thread title than this. Super Benintendi?
benintendi now with 8 hits in 16 ab with no walks and only 3 strikeouts. seems like a good start.
benintendi now with 8 hits in 16 ab with no walks and only 3 strikeouts. seems like a good start.
At least we don't have to wonder what the breaking news surrounding Benintendi is anymore.
Don't understand why anyone's down on Travis Shaw. He's a perfectly average 3B at the plate, having roughly the same year as Rendon and Beltre.
14. Rendon .265/.350/.437 UZR/150 = 10.8
15. Beltre .278/.331/.455 UZR/150 = 11.3
16. Shaw .252/.324/.460 UZR/150 = 1.8 (23.5 at 1B)
14. Rendon .265/.350/.437 UZR/150 = 10.8
15. Beltre .278/.331/.455 UZR/150 = 11.3
16. Shaw .252/.324/.460 UZR/150 = 1.8 (23.5 at 1B)
I haven't read any posts here indicating anyone is down on Shaw. I have read many posts questioning his ability to be a Top 10-20 hitter in the AL.
The Red Sox have two potential upcoming stars. One has the body of an infielder, playing outfield, and the other has the body of an outfielder and will probably play infield.
I noticed you didn't mention Chris Young. If Castillo puts together a strong August, the Red Sox should consider trading Young in the off-season and giving the 4th OF spot to Castillo next year. They have to pay Castillo anyway. They would save 6.5 million by trading Young and thus, in a sense, would minimize the economic disaster of Castillo's contract for one season.
The Red Sox will be inclined to platoon Young with Beinintendi next year, but that might not be a good idea. Instead, let Benintendi gain experience against lefties. If Castillo is the fourth OF, the Red Sox can let him rot away on the bench without platooning him. They would play Castillo only when one of the starters needs a day off.
I think Sandoval, another player you didn't mention, is going to start next year. He could have a big bounce back year. They can't trade him and so they should try to get some value out of him. Travis and Moncada need more time in the minors but they are valuable depth pieces in case of injury.
They will be in the 40% penalty bracket next year, so adding Castillo back to the 40 man roster will cost them an additional $4M+ in taxes. If he is worth it, great. But there is no sense in trading Young unless they are confident Castillo can do the job.
I don't think there is any chance whatsoever that Castillo will sniff the majors other than in an emergency. The last few times he was up, Farrell didn't play him anyhow, except as a pinch runner.
If they thought he was worth a bucket of balls he'd be up now over Brentz.
Young is a solid defender, quality right handed bench bat vs a loogy, great clubhouse guy, and can play all three OF positions in a pinch, which is really all you can ask for a 4th OF. He's also being paid the 1+ WAR going rate, so saving money at the margins really isn't terribly important there.
I think Young still has a role if they go they cheap DH platoon option (as they should IMHO) as well.
I don't disagree that he could technically be traded, but Castillo is an absolute last resort. My guess is he doesn't even come up in September.
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He's got 114 ABs left, and 51 games--no idea how many will be against RHP but say 35? That's just over 3 ABs per game if he starts all of those.
The DH thing is interesting. I suppose they could play Benintendi everyday in LF next year and keep Chris Young as a DH platoon partner for Sandoval (or someone else). Young could also get some extra at bats when a starting OF needs a rest.
The idea that Castillo is going to cost an extra 4 million in taxes (Bowlerman's point) is another persuasive reason for keeping Castillo off the 40 man. That 4 million is more than half of Young's 2017 salary.
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Rusney Castillo is 29 and rocking a .298/.298/.429 slash vs. Ls (that is not a typo) in AAA. He has ZERO walks in 84 ABs vs. Ls. He's hitting .244/.300/.307 vs. Rs. That isn't even good enough to be a AAAA player.
Some people are responding to the fact that after months of futility, he's suddenly hitting very well. 1.029 OPS in his last 9 games.
Maybe that's a BABIP fluke, or maybe he's made an adjustment. Probably the former.
Because it's an old rule made by old people who didn't understand the difference.
I don't think there's any chance at all that Sandoval starts next year. He is no longer even better than Travis Shaw, much less the guy waiting in the wings. I think that Boston's praying that Sandoval comes to spring training healthy and in good enough shape that some desperate NL team would be willing to pay $6-$8 million per year for him. Moncada is going to grab the 3B job by the balls and not let go.
Re Sandoval coming to camp in shape, it's known around baseball that he can eat himself back out of shape in no time. So, he may be untradeable.
He will get run next year. No one is going to trade for him at any price other than free until they see him play and spring training won't be enough. With Papi retired there's a need for another infielder - assuming Hanley takes some time at DH on a regular basis - and if you're not going to give him time, you might as well just release him. Which would be stupid. The him the first 6 weeks minimum and if he isn't showing anything cut him loose. Mediocre performance try to trade him and eat money. Returns to form, ride it or move the contract.
I'm not going to argue with this, and I fully expect that Boston ultimately pays 90% of the freight on the deal to get rid of it. But there's little to no chance that he's with Boston past spring training. The guy in the wings is just too good to make it worth their while. I guess they might trade Shaw instead, and then let Sandoval DH for a few weeks. But even there they're probably better off with Young and a rotating cast than Panda.
It's not a given that the guy in the wings is going to be ready on opening day. He hasn't played third yet and there's only about three weeks left in the minor league season. Maybe he gets that chance in September, but the Sox will likely be in it until late in the season even if they don't make it. That's not an ideal situation for a guy to try a new position. Maybe it happens and he excels. Maybe it doesn't and they decide he needs some actual experience there in the minors. If there's no big FA signing, that means there's a spot for Sandoval somewhere until Moncada convinces folks he's got what it takes to play third.
Benintendi, Bradley, Betts
Moncada, Bogaerts, Pedroia, Ramirez/Shaw
Swihart/Vazquez
A lineup that is both entirely homegrown and very good.
We don't know to what extent the injury and poor conditioning led to Sandoval's poor performance. If he comes into camp healthy and in reasonable shape, he could still be a really good player for the Red Sox--and he is still in the prime of his career.
There is no point to rushing Moncada. He is striking out too often in AA anyway, thus suggesting he needs more time in the minors beyond this season. It makes more sense to get Sandoval figured out before turning to alternatives who are under organizational control.
Moncada strikes me as someone who should get about 500 PA worth at AAA before being inked into the MLB roster. Otherwise he's going to get carved up by MLB-quality breaking pitches.
Even when he gets some time on the MLB roster next year, I don't think he'll force the issue until his age 23 season.
30-31 years old is post-prime (Bill James puts it at 25-29, and he wasn't a late bloomer), and 31 years old missing a full season of baseball due to injury, with a history of conditioning issues, is certainly not a good bet to be anything but cooked.
Pablo has shown a reliable, steady decline since his peak season at 24 years old. What would his bounce-back upside be? An older version of his 2014 self? Should the Red Sox even gamble on this if they (theoretically) could get 10 cents on the dollar to rid themselves of a potential distraction?
Quarter of the way through my first and only cup of coffee, took me a while, but is this a Benintendi thread?
At the first game, his father said he calls his grandfather "Nono". That's the Italian endearment term for Grandpa. There, some Benintendi talk.
At the first game, his father said he calls his grandfather "Nono". That's the Italian endearment term for Grandpa. There, some Benintendi talk.
It depends. Is his currently high k% due to issues with breaking pitches? Is it just an issue with a couple of lefties he ran into? He might rake in AAA with a low k% and be ready to go in 200 PA.