Boston Red Sox: 3 regular season goals for Andrew Benintendi in 2019
By Justin Keene
2.Steal 25 bases
Benny has speed, there’s no doubt about that. He is certainly not afraid to use it on the base-paths. In each of the last 2 seasons, he has been aggressive when he gets on base. In 2017, he had 20 stolen bases and was caught 5 times. Last season, he stole 21 bases and was caught only 3 times. He also added 2 stolen bases in the ALDS against the Yankees.
His on base percentage has gone up in each of the past 2 seasons as well, .352 in 2017 and .366 in 2018. Being at the head of the lineup will allow for more opportunity for the 24 year – old to reach base.
Boston was third in all of baseball with 125 stolen bases, which was a jump from 6th in the MLB in 2017 with 106 stolen bases. Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. were his only teammates to reach double-digit stolen bases with 30 and 17 respectively.
Getting on base and applying pressure to the opposing pitcher with a powerful lineup behind him, along with the aggressiveness of Alex Cora, Andrew Benintendi could steal 25 bases this season. The lefty certainly has the raw ability to hit for 20 home runs and steal 20 bags in 2019.