Andrew Benintendi was once thought to be a foundational piece for the Alamo Short Stacks after being activated in 2017. Back to back 400+ points season backed up his strong prospect pedigree but things have soured so much on Benintendi's value that he was dealt to the Kansas City Royals for a less than stellar package Wednesday night.
Over a longer season, Benintendi may have been able to salvage some amount of respectability from his stat line, but there's still nothing good that can be said about his campaign. He appeared in just 14 games before being shut down with a rib injury, but he showed incredibly little in that tiny sample, hitting a miserable .103/.314/.128. Ordinarily, thinking much at all about just 14 games in which a player may have been battling an injury would be unwise, but those struggles fit disturbingly well into the overall arc of his career. 2019 had been his worse year to date, as his 13 homers, 10 steals and .266 average that year all represented full-season lows.
2021 Outlook
Benintendi is entering his age-26 season, and he was quite highly touted as a prospect, but he is now staring at back to back subpar seasons with uncertainty for what to expect in 2021 in fantasy circles.
Even giving him a full mulligan for 2020, there were already reasons to be concerned about Benintendi’s changed approach at the plate. He was more aggressive in 2019, which made sense for a contact hitter, but appeared to go far in the wrong direction. The increase in aggression was steady and seems to have backfired, with his contact rate bottoming out, resulting in a swinging strike rate that took a big jump (11.6%) over his first two full seasons (7.6% and 7.5%).
One thing is certain, with his move to Kansas City, playing time won't be an issue which is of substantial value in the RDBL and currently his most appealing feature.
Interested RDBL Teams
While the trajectory on Benintendi's career is pointing downward, the outfielder still figures to have some heat in the Auction Draft for clubs looking to round out their offense with some potential upside. With six weeks to go, the St. Joseph Jokers, Mission Viejo Maulers and Mt. Diablo Devils have been linked to Benintendi so far. Another club to watch is the Asti Grape Stompers who had targeted Benintendi with one of their top two selections in the 2016 Reserve Draft.
2021 Auction Draft Prediction
$7 to Mission Viejo Maulers
The Maulers have a number of holes to plug in the Auction Draft and need to find lightning in a bottle with a few of those draft selections. Benintendi is a strong match as a long leash in Kansas City will give him a decent floor with the opportunity to return to his 2018 production.
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