The Boston Red Sox have one of the most talented farm systems in all of baseball. With 5 prospects on the top 100 list, Boston’s future seems to be brighter than ever. A major league roster that is packed with young talent appears to be getting some help sooner rather than later in Yoan Moncada and Andrew Benintendi.
Who Is Andrew Benintendi?:
Benintendi, 22, is tearing the cover off the ball in AA with Portland. After a slow start he has gone 35-for-99 (.354) with a 1.086 OPS in his past 27 games. Then again Boston should be fortunate to have Benintendi as he was the 7th overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft. Many teams foolishly passed on him even though he won the Golden Spikes award in college (college baseball MVP). Left field has been a revolving door for the Red Sox that has seen Brock Holt, Chris Young, Blake Swihart, and Bryce Brentz all field the position. With plus speed and power there is no question that he is the future left fielder for Boston as All Stars Jackie Bradley and Mookie Betts have already entrenched themselves as young superstars.
Who Is Yoan Moncada?:
Yoan Moncada was the MVP of the USA vs. World game during the All-Star weekend. Boston purchased Moncada for $31.5 million after Cuba allowed him to leave their country in 2014. After an up and down first year in A ball, Moncada has showed off the prowess of a future MVP in AA Portland. Moncada, 21, has been compared to Carlos Beltran by his minor league manager Carlos Febles. The AA second baseman is 20-for-63 (.317) with four homers, 14 RBIs, four stolen bases in 15 Double-A games. Moncada has the ability to play every position on the diamond but will likely settle in at third base in the majors. With the talented middle infield of Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts, there is no chance Boston will mess with that duo. Hanley Ramirez has also played a great first base as well as Travis Shaw is likely out of a job soon.
With the Red Sox 2 games out of first place it remains to be seen whether President of Baseball operations Dave Dombrowski will call up either player this season. With David Ortiz’s swansong season at stake it remains to be seen what potential moves the Red Sox will make in order to give Big Papi one last ring.
