MLB: New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox

From BP: 2017 Red Sox Top 10 Prospects List ($)

By Jeffrey Paternostro, Ben Carsley and the BP Fantasy Staff

The State of the System: I could just C&P the Nats lines here. Incredible top five, falls off quickly after that, and past the top ten, even fewer intriguing names than the Nats.

The Top Ten

  1. OF Andrew Benintendi
  2. IF Yoan Moncada
  3. 3B Rafael Devers
  4. LHP Jason Groome
  5. RHP Michael Kopech
  6. OF Luis Alexander Basabe
  7. SS Mauricio Dubon
  8. 1B Sam Travis
  9. LHP Brian Johnson
  10. 1B Josh Ockimey

The Big Question: Why don’t we give out 80 hit tools?

Andrew Benintendi is about as sure a bet to hit for a good batting average as a prospect can be. He was a top-ten overall draft pick as a small, late-blooming, moderately bat-first player. The bat has to be really good for that to happen. His minor-league performance record is absolutely flawless, outside of a rough first couple weeks in Double-A that got drowned out in the season line quickly when he started crushing the ball. He is essentially already established as a major-league regular, only eligible for this list because a minor injury kept him just a touch under the rookie-eligibility requirements. He hit .295 for a month-and-a-half in the majors in a pennant race. He’s got one of those picture-perfect beautiful lefty swings. He makes a short, aggressive move on the ball. His wrists are great, his bat speed is excellent, and he has a really good idea of what he wants to do. The ball jumps off his bat in a way it does for the truly special ones. There’s basically nothing to nitpick here. This is the total hit package.

Read the rest ($) at Baseball Prospectus

Photo by Bob DeChiara/USA Today Sports Images

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