Andrew Benintendi might not yet be breathing the rarefied air enjoyed by Mookie Betts and Mike Trout, but the Boston Red Sox outfielder is putting up numbers matched only by those two MVP candidates.
Benintendi went 2-for-5 with a home run Wednesday night, his 10th round-tripper of the season. Lately, it seems he’s filling up the box score every night, hitting .391 with five home runs, four doubles and two triples to go along with 13 RBIs in his last 11 games.
The very helpful Boston Sports Info account on Twitter pointed out Thursday morning that since 2017, only three players have at least 30 home runs, 100 RBIs, 100 runs and 30 stolen bases: Trout, Betts and, you guessed it, Benintendi.
MLB players, since the start of 2017, with
≥ 30 HR
≥ 100 RBI
≥ 100 R
≥ 30 SBMookie Betts – 41 HR – 139 RBI – 153 R – 39 SB
Andrew Benintendi – 30 HR – 133 RBI – 128 R – 30 SB
Mike Trout – 52 HR – 111 RBI – 144 R – 35 SBEnd of list
These 3 again
details pic.twitter.com/Z7cXTqm11Q
— Boston Sports Info (@bostonsportsinf) June 7, 2018
Again, that’s not to say Benintendi should be entered into the “Who’s the best player in baseball?” conversation anytime soon. Look closer at those numbers, and you’ll see Benintendi still strikes out more than the other two players and doesn’t get on base at the same rate.
But he’s also two or three years younger than those other players, and he has just one full MLB season under his belt.
