A rival executive familiar with the Red Sox thinking told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand that he would be “shocked” if Andrew Benintendi wasn’t traded before the end of the weekend. The 26-year-old outfielder had an awful 2020 campaign finishing 4/39 (.103) with 17 strikeouts before a rib injury on August 11th ended his season. Benintendi had his best season during the Red Sox 2018 championship run. He hit .290/.366/.465 with 16 home runs and 21 stolen bases. He was a major factor in the Red Sox eventual championship win; he had one of the greatest postseason catches in recent memory robbing Alex Bregman of a potential walkoff hit in game 4 of the ALCS.

The Astros, Athletics, and Rangers have all been in contact with the Red Sox regarding Benintendi according to Sean McAdam of Boston Sports Journal. WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford says another American League team is in the mix as well, though that team’s identity is unknown at the moment. The Pittsburgh Pirates have also been rumored to have interest in the Boston Left Fielder. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported at least one team has “discussed trading big league depth for Benintendi”, which would fill a hole on this Boston roster.

Benintendi is owed $6.6 million in 2021 and will remain under team control as an arbitration-eligible player in 2022. The question the Red Sox and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom have to ask themselves, “Is it worth it to trade a player who was such a key piece to a world series title a little over 2 years ago?” If Boston receives an offer they simply can’t refuse then I don’t believe it would be too tough of a decision especially with how low his trade value is currently. With the Red Sox trading their best player in Mookie Betts in February 2020 and Jackie Bradley Jr. being a free agent, shipping away Benintendi would mean that the last remaining leg of the starting outfield from the 2018 World Series championship season would no longer be a part of the Boston Red Sox organization.

People are often fooled into thinking that Blake Martinez is a good NFL linebacker by his gaudy tackle numbers. In 2017, Martinez (and Joe Schobert and Preston Brown) led all NFL players in tackles with 144. Last year, he was second in the NFL in tackles with 155. Sure, these numbers seem great, but Martinez isn’t all that great of a tackler. According to Pro Football Reference, Martinez missed 10.4% of his tackle attempts last year. When you compare this to some elite NFL linebackers, you see just how bad this is. Cory Littleton missed just 3.6%, Bobby Wagner 5.9%, Luke Kuechly 6.5%, Jaylon Smith 7.8%, and Jordan Hicks missed 10.7%. Those who maintain that Martinez is a good player often say he’s a great tackler, but, as you can see, this is simply not true. 

Another myth told by Martinez truthers is that he is a good run stopper. Pro Football Focus (PFF) gives Martinez a 47.0 run defense grade, which is downright awful. This grade didn’t even rank among the top 50 qualified linebackers (the lowest grade on the list was 63.3) and was far from it. Martinez often seems lost on run plays, struggling to fill the correct gaps and lacking the athleticism to get to runningbacks before they reach the second level. 

Martinez also struggles in pass coverage. PFF gives him a 64.2 coverage grade, which ranks 61st among qualified linebackers. Opposing defenses targeted him on purpose, knowing that they would be able to march down the field if they threw his way. He was targeted 74 times in coverage last year (6th most among LBs). On these 74 targets, Martinez allowed a whopping 62 completions, which meant opposing QBs were able to complete 83.8% of their passes when targeting him. He allowed 570 yards in coverage (339 after the catch), which amounted to 15.3% of the total passing yards allowed by the Packers last season. 

Martinez is most skilled when used as a pass rusher in a blitz. According to data from Pro Football Reference, he had a pressure rate of 14.3% when rushing the passer last year. For comparison, T.J. Watt had a pressure rate of 11.6%, and Aaron Donald had a pressure rate of 9.6%. Obviously Martinez rushes the passer much less, and the majority of the time he does is on designed blitzes, but this shows his strength as a rusher nonetheless. Additionally, PFF gives him a pass-rush grade of 78.4, which is pretty good, especially for a linebacker. This grade ranks 15th among all linebackers, which further shows that pass rushing is one of his strengths.  

Blake Martinez is not a horrible player, but he certainly isn’t a star. His overall PFF grade of 58.9 ranks 53rd among qualified linebackers, meaning that he would be a solid backup on a contending team. He is said to be a great locker room presence and he has 4 years of experience starting as well as playoff experience, which are all great traits for a backup on a contending team. This most certainly does not justify a 3 year, $30,000,000 contract, especially from a bottom 5 team in the NFL that has no talent on the roster at linebacker and could’ve added someone like Cory Littleton for just a little bit more per year or Nick Kwiatowski for considerably less. But, since the Giants did sign Martinez, they would be better off benching him and seeing what some of the young guys on the roster can do. The salary cap is expected to shrink because of Covid-19 and Martinez could be a casualty after this season. 

This is not meant to bash Blake Martinez. By all accounts, he is a great person and was obviously good enough to start in the NFL for four years. This is actually meant to target Dave Gettleman and anyone else working for the Giants that thought it would be a good idea to sign Martinez. This is one of many terrible moves made by the Gettleman regime and hopefully, if the team struggles again, he is no longer with the team after the 2020 season.

Stats Via:

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MartBl01.htm#all_detailed_defense

https://www.espn.com/nfl/stats/_/season/2019/seasontype/2

https://www.espn.com/nfl/stats/team/_/view/defense/table/passing/sort/netPassingYards/dir/desc

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2019/defense_advanced.htm

Kluber is coming off of one of his worst years to date, posting a 2-3 record, 5.80 ERA, and a 1.654 WHIP. He was injured most of last season, so he only played in 7 games.

Lynn’s 2019 was arguably the best in his career, with a 16-11 record, 3.67 ERA, and a 1.219 WHIP. Lynn was a sleeper candidate for Cy Young Award, and finished 5th overall in voting for it.

Minor also had a career year last year, posting a 14-10 record, 3.59 ERA, and a 1.238 WHIP. Minor finished 3 places behind Lynn for 8th overall in Cy Young voting. Lynn and Minor were often called one of the top 1-2 combinations, and it shows.

Lyles had an impressive 2019, although it was a small sample size. He had a 7-1 record, a 2.45 ERA, and a 1.108 WHIP. This is one of the most underrated additions to our rotation this season, and he can definitely provide something to this team.

Gibson had an average 2019, with a 13-7 record, a 4.84 ERA, and a 1.444 WHIP. While also a decent addition, he won’t be in the spotlight much this season.

Even still, no one sees the Rangers as a team that can do anything this year. Overall, the Rangers rotation should be considered as a force to be reckoned with this season.

Huff is currently playing for the Single A Hickory Crawdads, being sent down from the High Single A Down East Wood Ducks. In the 30 games he played for Hickory in 2019, he posted a .333/.368/.796 slash line, which is high enough where he should be considered for a promotion back to Down East. When taking all 4 years of his time in the minors into consideration, he has a .264/.328/.473, which is considerably worse.

Since Huff has played the majority of his games at the catcher position, his fielding stats are a little different than other positions. He has a .990 Fielding Percentage over the 4 years in the minors, which is respectable for a catcher. He has a 34% Caught Stealing Percentage, which when compared to modern day catchers, would be slightly above average.

Huff won the 2019 Futures Game MVP award, because of a game-tying 2 run home run in the bottom of the 7th inning. In the Futures game, there are only 7 innings, so this sent the game to an extra inning and prevented an AL loss. Notable Rangers player Joey Gallo won the same award during the 2014 All-Star Futures Game at Target Field in Minnesota.

Overall, while Huff has not put up considerable numbers during his 4 years in the minors, he still is a top 5 prospect for the Rangers. There are not enough decent prospects on the list where he should fall much. He earns a B- rating for all of these stats, when put together.

Jung has been on a mission to reach the big league club since he was drafted, ending the season at A level affiliate, Hickory Crawdads. While playing for the Crawdads, Jung has put up a .287/.363/.389 slash line.

Jung’s fielding during his time playing in the Rangers system has been outstanding. He has put up a .980 fielding percentage, although a small sample, would place him #1 among active MLB players. Jung’s range factor per 9 would place him at #6, tied with Mike Moustakas with a 2.68 RF/9.

Taking in all of these stats, Jung definitely can defend his #1 spot on the list of Rangers top prospects. Jung is certainly an A prospect, although he is overshadowed by the great number of amazing prospects in baseball today.

In the first half of the 2019 season, the Rangers bolstered a 48-42 record, which placed them 3rd in the division at the time. The second half of the season was not very kind to them, causing the Rangers to have a 30-42 record after the All Star break.

With the shortened season, we may only see the MLB play 80 to 100 games, which may allow the Rangers to blossom. If this is the case, the Rangers could possibly earn a playoff spot as a wildcard spot in addition to all of the players that are new to the team this season.

May 4, 2020

A few days ago I was privileged to interview Cubs prospect Brennen Davis! Davis was a second round pick by the Cubs in the 2018 MLB Draft straight out of high school. Davis has played two seasons (as only an 18 and 19 year old) in the minor leagues, most recently playing A ball. Heading into the 2020 season, Davis was ranked the third best prospect in the Cubs farm system and the number 78 prospect in all of baseball by mlb.com. In 68 minor league games, Davis has a career stat line of .303 BA/.394 OBP/.479 SLG/.873 OPS. In 2019, Davis was named Minor League Player of the Year in the Cubs organization

Why did you decide to enter your name into the 2018 MLB Draft instead of going to college? What would you say was the most challenging transition from high school baseball to the minor leagues?

It was a tough decision but I felt I’d develop better as a player in the pro ball atmosphere than in a college atmosphere with the coaching and resources I’d get. (The) most challenging thing would probably (be) adjusting to velocity. In HS the hardest I’d see was 91 and that was once a year now I’m seeing guys 97-100+ on occasion, just took some getting used too.

What is your game day routine like? How does this help you lock in for a game?

(My) game day routine is do all my prep work beforehand, get some fuel in my body, talk to my mom, then clear my head and go play; I try not to make it too complicated.

How would you describe yourself as a player? How will you (hopefully) help a major league team win ballgames in the future?

I’d describe myself as an elite defender who is an everyday contributor in the heart of the lineup. I feel like the consistency I aim for in my hitting approach will help me help my ball club win games as well as my consistency on the defensive end. 

How have you been able to stay in game shape through the coronavirus pandemic? What has been the biggest challenge in preparing for the season?

I still have a place to hit and lift so staying game ready hasn’t been too tuff for me. (The) biggest challenges have been so many different people giving me advice on how to hit. And I want to be coachable but figuring out what works the best for me and what’s going to make me the most successful.

Featured image via theathletic.com

Round 1 Pick 2, Redskins: DE, Chase Young, Ohio State

Round 1 Pick 3, Lions: CB, Jeff Okudah, Ohio State

Round 1 Pick 4, Giants: LB, Isaiah Simmons, Clemson

Round 1 Pick 5, Dolphins: QB, Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama

Round 1 Pick 6, Chargers: QB, Justin Herbert, Oregon

Round 1 Pick 7, Panthers: DT, Derick Brown, Auburn

Round 1 Pick 8, Cardinals: OL, Tristan Wirfs, Iowa

Round 1 Pick 9, Jaguars: CB, C.J Henderson, Florida

Round 1 Pick 10, Browns: OL, Andrew Thomas, Georgia

Round 1 Pick 11, Jets: WR, CeeDee Lamb, Oklahoma

Round 1 Pick 12, Raiders: WR, Jerry Jeudy, Alabama

Round 1 Pick 13, 49ers: WR, Henry Ruggs III, Alabama

Round 1 Pick 14, Buccaneers: OL, Jedrick Willis, Alabama

Round 1 Pick 15 Broncos: DT, Javon Kinlaw, South Carolina

Round 1 Pick 16, Falcons: OL, Mekhi Becton, Louisville

Round 1 Pick 17, Cowboys: LB, K’lavon Chaisson, Louisiana

Round 1 Pick 18, Dolphins: Safety, Xavier McKinney, Alabama

Round 1 Pick 19, Raiders: LB, Kenneth Murray, Oklahoma

Round 1 Pick 20, Jaguars: Safety, Grant Delpit, Louisiana

Round 1 Pick 21, Eagles: WR, Justin Jefferson, Louisiana

Round 1 Pick 22, Vikings: WR, Denzel Mims, Baylor

Round 1 Pick 23, Patriots: DE, AJ Epenesa, Iowa

Round 1 Pick 24, Saints: QB, Jordan Love, Utah

Round 1 Pick 25, Vikings: CB, Kristian Fulton, Louisiana

Round 1 Pick 26, Dolphins: OL, Austin Jackson, Southern California

Round 1 Pick 27, Seahawks: LB, Zach Baun, Wisconsin

Round 1 Pick 28, Ravens: LB, Patrick Queen, Louisiana

Round 1 Pick 29, Titans: CB, Jeff Gladney, TCU

Round 1 Pick 30, Packers: WR, Tee Higgins, Clemson

Round 1 Pick 31, 49ers: OL, Cesar Ruiz, Michigan

Round 1 Pick 32, Chiefs: CB, Trevon Diggs, Alabama