Lets fix Will Benson

[TRF]

He's entering his age 26 season. He's had 2 seasons with the Reds, one very good, one very bad. So what went wrong? digging into the numbers it looks like he got a little pull happy. His FB rate went way up. He had an unsustainable BABIP from 2023 at .391, but the drop to .285 means there is likely some middle ground there.

I think he's AAA bound. The Reds are not just letting him go unless it is part of a trade. And honestly his value is too low for that. Once he adjusted to a level in the minors, he hit. This is really the first time he has repeated a level where he has regressed.

So with the assumption that the Reds are keeping him and NOT dealing him, what do the Reds do to fix what broke? What would you emphasize? Is OBP this year was 73 points higher than his BA, last year it was 90 points higher. Had he a .300-.320 BABIP?

It's the K's for me. He's strong enough to muscle doubles and HRs while shortening his swing. his walk rate is fine. his power is there. He's got speed. If he just had the singles to get his BA to the mid .250s he above a .780 OPS. if he did so and naturally hit 1-2 more HR's, and doubles, we are looking at an .800+ OPS platoon guy.

2025 is likely his last chance with the Reds, but it is not like he has a ton of footsteps behind him. All the OF depth has warts bigger than the ones he has.

So, How would you fix him?

[Old school 1983]

Hire Votto to be his personal hitting coach

[RedsManRick]

I'm no scout, but it seems pretty straightforward to me: He's got excellent plate discipline - elite at taking balls and above average at swinging at strikes. He's got good raw power. He's among the very worst in baseball at making contact (2nd worst out of the zone, 4th worst in the zone).

He presumably has naturally very poor hand/eye coordination and/or a long, exploitable swing. These things are pretty difficult to fix. I'd hope he'd be doing some sort of specific training to improve those things, but I wouldn't expect them to change substantially.

But there's a model for guys like him to be successful -- big dudes with big strike zones, good plate discipline and good power. Just ask Judge, Stanton Rooker, or our own Adam Dunn... Swing as little as possible, spit on stuff you can't hit (even in the zone), force pitchers to throw you something you actually can hit, and then crush the ball when you do connect.

Just like we saw with Dunn, if he goes up there chasing singles, it gets ugly.

[mth123]

I think his BABIP dropped from .391 to a more normal .282. Pitchers realized that, despite his imposing stature and athleticism, he's terrible at making contact so they aren't as afraid to throw strikes as they were in his first go around the NL. His lack of contact skills are going to make it really hard for him to adjust back.

On the scale how optimistic I am that some players will fulfill their 2023 promise, I'd rate Marte as possible but unlikely, CES as a bigger longshot and Benson as NFW. I hope none of those guys are on the opening day roster. The Reds are in a period where they should compete. There are no PAs that they can afford to waste trying to fix these low possibility guys at the big-league level.

Time for different players who don't need to be fixed.

[Mitri]

Nah, I’m good. Reds should move on and get serious about who they give at-bats to.

[VR]

Francona had him in Cleveland. Will be interesting to see his thoughts.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MoneyInTheBank]

I'm no scout, but it seems pretty straightforward to me: He's got excellent plate discipline - elite at taking balls and above average at swinging at strikes. He's got good raw power. He's among the very worst in baseball at making contact (2nd worst out of the zone, 4th worst in the zone).

He presumably has naturally very poor hand/eye coordination and/or a long, exploitable swing. These things are pretty difficult to fix. I'd hope he'd be doing some sort of specific training to improve those things, but I wouldn't expect them to change substantially.

But there's a model for guys like him to be successful -- big dudes with big strike zones, good plate discipline and good power. Just ask Judge, Stanton Rooker, or our own Adam Dunn... Swing as little as possible, spit on stuff you can't hit (even in the zone), force pitchers to throw you something you actually can hit, and then crush the ball when you do connect.

Just like we saw with Dunn, if he goes up there chasing singles, it gets ugly.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say he didn't make it to MLB with naturally very poor hand/eye coordination

[mth123]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say he didn't make it to MLB with naturally very poor hand/eye coordination

His 30 hit tool with a 35 max would suggest otherwise. He got there based on power, speed and hope. Hope is never a good thing to base anything on.

[MoneyInTheBank]

His 30 hit tool with a 35 max would suggest otherwise. He got there based on power, speed and hope. Hope is never a good thing to base anything on.

It's absurd to suggest any MLB player has naturally very poor hand/eye coordination

[Redsfan6272]

All you have to do is look at his batting stance from the Dodger walk off game in 2023.. his hands were higher and back towards his body. He could catch up to the fastball up in the zone, this past year hands away from his body and bat lower in the stance. A simple adjustment a good hitting coach should have pointed out this past season!!

[Kingspoint]

[RedsManRick]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say he didn't make it to MLB with naturally very poor hand/eye coordination

That's some real "ballplayers thinking they're smart by insulting analysts with mom's basement jokes" energy. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you're joking.

What's absurd is analyzing or interpreting other people's analysis of professional athletes talents as being relative to the broader human population. And relative to other major league baseball players, his bat-to-ball skills suck.

Or should we be saying things like "Stuart Fairchild has really good power" and "Tyler Stephenson has wheels" because, relative to us, they do.

[TRF]

They didn't suck last year.

He suddenly started striking out at a much higher rate, and he seemed like his swing changed too, more uppercut than last year. a ton more flyball outs.if he garnered the same number of hits as Espinal this year, he'd have had an OPS north of .800 It's definitely a contact issue, but it wasn't one in 2023 so Either 2023 was a fluke, and his numbers in the minors don't agree or his 2024 numbers are. I think his upside is greater than Fraley's. But the full-time ship for him has set sail. He's a platoon guy.

I happen to think he can be fixed. So lets say he's a project and do that. BTW, there is a bullpen version of him too. We'll fix him later this week.

[mth123]

It's absurd to suggest any MLB player has naturally very poor hand/eye coordination

It's all relative. He probably has better hand/eye coordination than you or me, but as major league hitters go...

[MoneyInTheBank]

That's some real "ballplayers thinking they're smart by insulting analysts with mom's basement jokes" energy. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you're joking.

What's absurd is analyzing or interpreting other people's analysis of professional athletes talents as being relative to the broader human population. And relative to other major league baseball players, his bat-to-ball skills suck.

Or should we be saying things like "Stuart Fairchild has really good power" and "Tyler Stephenson has wheels" because, relative to us, they do.

When you say poor bat to ball skills? Yes. When you say a poor hit tool? Yes. Naturally very poor hand/eye coordination? I very much interpreted that as a comparison to the general population. It's now clear that's not what you meant. So, yes, I agree his hit tool is lacking.

I do apologize. I did not realize saying an MLB player does not have naturally very poor hand/eye coordination would be so triggering. I will watch the film and do better