Okay perhaps this one is more wishful thinking, but I really think Andrew Benintendi (2019 stats: .266/.358/.452 with 8 HR, 47 R, 43 RBI, and 9 SB through 404 PA) is bound to turn his season around soon. This one isn’t a case where his metrics suggest positive regression. In fact, his .339 BABIP is higher than his .323 mark. His .240 xBA suggests that based off his quality of contact, his .267 BA is actually higher than it should be. Benintendi’s strike out rate (+7.3%) and swinging strike rate (+4%) are significantly higher than last year’s marks. Oh right, I’m supposed to be convincing you why you should be buying him. I include these stats because like I said, this is more of a gut feeling than something backed by Statcast metrics or batted ball data. We have seen Benintendi perform at an outstanding level, and this isn’t it.

One thing that does stick out in his batted ball data is that he is making hard contact (34.5%) on batted balls 6.5% more than last season. This, combined with a career high fly ball rate of 45.6% should hopefully mean more extra base hits are to come. While his 8 home runs certainly aren’t very impressive, his 25 doubles are tied for 14th most in the league. His 4 triples are tied for 15th most among major league hitters. It is encouraging to see Benintendi’s 10.4% walk rate in line with his career mark, so we know he is still seeing the ball well. He hits in an extremely potent offense, so Benny should see lots RISP opportunities. He can be bought pretty cheaply, and he has shown in his career that he is a solid source of pop and speed. Going 10/10 the rest of the way is certainly not out of the question. ZiPS ROS: .278/.358/.452 with 6 HR, 33 R, 32 RBI, and 7 SB through 248 PA