Mastrodonato: Alex Verdugo can be the player we thought Andrew Benintendi would be

That’s enough of the Mookie Betts comparisons, already.

Alex Verdugo is nothing like Betts, not in his personality, not in his demeanor and not in his play style.

Verdugo’s monster day on Wednesday, when he totaled five hits and made a game-saving diving catch for the final out, brought on memories of a different Red Sox player: Andrew Benintendi.

Verdugo is like the player we thought Benintendi could be, the player he never really evolved into.

Verdugo turns 25 on May 15. He’s already met the expectations we once had for Benintendi, a similar left-handed batter, one who was also supposed to hit .300 with 40 doubles a year and was billed as a play-anywhere outfielder.

It just didn’t happen for Benintendi. He wasn’t bad, by any means. He had two decent seasons in ‘17 and ‘19, a very good season in ‘18 and a great catch in the American League Championship Series. He’ll be remembered as a fine player, but one who never lived up to his potential.

It was on the defensive side that Benintendi mostly disappointed.

He was a center fielder at the University of Arkansas and a center fielder all the way through the minors, but the Sox already had Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr., so Benintendi was stuck in the corners. And it’s probably a good thing he never played too much center field because he it was an adventure for him in left, where he never seemed comfortable against the Green Monster, had a below-average arm and looked almost as disinterested in playing defense as Ted Williams.

Then he got hurt, his salary kept going up and the Sox shipped him to Kansas City, where he’s hitting second for the Royals and, as of writing this, is hitting .225 with one double, no homers and 14 strikeouts in 40 at-bats.

Enter Verdugo, who can play any outfield position, and play them well.

He showed last year he could play both corner spots, where he was robbing homers in right field at Fenway Park, perhaps the most difficult right field in baseball. In left field, he showed off his arm, with an unfathomable six outfield assists in 22 games.

In Game 1 of a doubleheader on Wednesday, Verdugo started in center field, where he’s quietly fit in as a fine defender, then moved to left field for the final two innings. With two outs, a man on base and the Sox clinging to a 3-2 lead, Matt Barnes allowed a stinger to left field off the bat of Luis Arraez. The ball was tailing toward the left-field line when Verdugo charged in and timed his dive perfectly, catching the ball near the ground with his outstretched glove. His sunglasses went flying and he came up celebrating.

Manager Alex Cora called it a “great play.” Asked if it reminded him of the catch Benintendi made in the ‘18 ALCS, Cora said, “of course.”

“Like I’ve been saying all along, Alex is a good player, very solid player, and I’m learning a lot about him,” Cora said. “He can hit righties, he can hit lefties, he controls the strike zone, he knows his swing, good defender, overall a good baseball player. He’s still young, he’s still learning, but we’re very pleased with the way he’s playing the game right now.”

That’s where Verdugo can take his game to a level Benintendi didn’t: he can keep growing.

Entering Wednesday, Verdugo is a career .285 hitter with a .796 OPS; Benintendi is a .272 hitter with a .783 OPS.

Verdugo probably has the higher ceiling.

“I do believe he still can get better,” Cora said. “We’re still going to teach him how to play the game.”

What we’ve seen from Verdugo is pure talent, high energy and a lot of emotion. In that way, he’s a lot like Rafael Devers, albeit with two very different approaches.

“Being young and going through baseball, I’ve always had the mindset, ‘I’m better than you,’” Verdugo said. “Whether it’s true or not, you’re not going to beat me up there. That’s how I’ve always felt.”

When the Red Sox benched him for Opening Day last year against a left-handed starter, Verdugo walked into Ron Roenicke’s office and told him he could hit lefties, too.

Then he hit .320 with a .791 OPS off lefties in 2020.

“Everybody talks about, ‘Oh, lefties can’t hit lefties because they don’t see them enough,’” Verdugo said Wednesday. “I don’t believe in that, man. At the same time, it’s like, you’ve got to understand what the pitcher is going to do up there, what their process is, what their strengths are, go up there with your strengths and figure it out.”

Defensively, too, Verdugo has a chip on his shoulder.

“I played all three positions today,” he said. “I went from center to left to right. So I feel like, at this point now, there shouldn’t be any questions about versatility or playing any of the different positions at a lower level.”

At the very least, he’s got confidence. Cora’s job is to work through that layer of self-assuredness and find a way to help him get better.

At this point, Benintendi is the better comparison than Betts. But Verdugo has a chance to end up somewhere in between.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2RtAcAI