FAYETTEVILLE -- Andrew Benintendi's huge sophomore season took another dramatic turn Monday when the Boston Red Sox took the Arkansas center fielder with the No. 7 pick in the major league amateur draft.
"I'm excited today happened," Benintendi said during a teleconference. "I'm excited to join the Red Sox and excited to get started."
Top 15 picks
Team, player and position:
- Arizona, Dansby Swanson, SS
- Houston, Alex Bregman, SS
- Colorado, Brendan Rodgers, SS
- Texas, Dillon Tate, RHP
- Houston, Kyle Tucker, OF
- Minnesota, Tyler Jay, LHP
- Boston, Andrew Benintendi, OF
- Chicago (AL), Carson Fulmer, RHP
- Chicago (NL), Ian Happ, OF
- Philadelphia, Cornelius Randolph, SS
- Cincinnati, Tyler Stephenson, C
- Miami, Josh Naylor, 1B
- Tampa Bay, Garrett Whitley, OF
- Atlanta, Kolby Allard, LHP
- Milwaukee, Trenton Clark, OF
Benintendi, who was compared to former New York Yankees great Don Mattingly by Harold Reynolds of the MLB Network, became the first Arkansas player to earn SEC player of the year honors and the first to be named a national player of the year when Collegiate Baseball magazine gave him that award.
He is the third-highest Razorback ever taken in the draft, behind Jeff King, who was the No. 1 overall selection by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986, and Kevin McReynolds, who was taken No. 6 by the San Diego Padres in 1981. He is the eighth Arkansas player to be drafted in the first round and the highest Razorbacks selection since King.
Benintendi said the possibility of being draft eligible might have played a role in his slow start this season, but that he settled in and started playing better as the team made its move.
"About a month ago, where I was personally, I was pretty satisfied with where I was," he said. "I realized I may have a good chance to go pretty high. I'm extremely excited right now."
Benintendi led the SEC with a .415 batting average and 16 home runs during the regular season. A finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy, he will take a .380 average with 19 home runs, 55 RBI and 23 stolen bases into the College World Series on Saturday.
Benintendi, 5-10, 180 pounds, has been on the Red Sox's radar since his high school days in Cincinnati.
"We think Andrew is a very well-rounded player," said Mike Rikard, the Red Sox's director of amateur scouting. "There's so many things we like about him. He's very athletic. He can run. He can play center field. We see him eventually as a top of the order type of bat."
Ben Cherington, Boston's executive vice president and general manager, said the Red Sox liked how well Benintendi competed as a freshman in the SEC and the big leap he took this season.
"You just put it all together and when it got time for our pick at [No.] 7, he was the top player on the board. It was obvious who we were taking and we were really excited to take him."
Benintendi made 60 starts as a freshman, batting .276 with 8 doubles, 1 home run, 27 RBI and 45 runs scored. He attributed his big leap in 2015 to adding 15 pounds during the summer and the lower-seamed baseballs.
Benintendi said the Red Sox are a great organization with a great history.
"I looked up to guys like Dustin Pedroia, who is not the biggest guy," Benintendi said. "But I love the way he competes."
Benintendi said his approach as a hitter is to "hit the ball hard, whether it be the first pitch or working the count."
Rikard said one of the biggest enticements for the Red Sox to draft Benintendi was his hitting style.
"I think there's no doubt that he's going to be able to control the strike zone and recognize pitches at a high level, which gives us a lot of comfort in projecting him as a major league player," Rikard said.
"But he also has power to both sides of the field. I think he's going to be a guy who can work counts, for sure, but he's also got a lot of the good hitter's traits that we like, as far as being aggressive and controlling the strike zone."
Reynolds said Benintendi jumped out at him during video study.
"I was really impressed with his ability to make contact to all fields and the power jumped out," Reynolds said. "I think he's a really good athlete. I like the pick."
Sports on 06/09/2015