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Ex-Royals Outfielder Has Completely Turned Things Around

The Chicago White Sox have someone who has finally stepped it up after a disappointing start to his White Sox tenure. Chicago was getting some much-needed wins after they played the Tampa Bay Rays last week. They did just that and swept the Rays and then met the Minnesota Twins who promptly cut them down in a sweep over their division rivals. Their little win streak, from their three wins against the Rays, was gone. It was back to the old times for the White Sox.

However, out of the Tampa Bay series, one player on the White Sox seemed to have found himself. He’s finally showing his stuff and making it look like he’s worth the money the White Sox spent to bring him a while ago.

Andrew Benintendi Is Finding His Game

Outfielder Andrew Benintendi has finally started to play like the guy the Sox hoped he would be. He’s come on in the last few games and can be considered a big part of the White Sox winning a small number of games. He also helped them keep a good pace with the Twins in their series. Benintendi directly contributed to the wins they experienced against the Rays, especially with his walk-off home run and timely hitting.

He’s starting to show up and the White Sox need that.

By the Numbers

Through Chicago’s weekend series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Benintendi was hitting well below the Mendoza line at .195, which has slipped just a little bit, and has a. 500 OPS. He’s been up to the plate 122 times and has nine runs, three home runs, 13 RBI, and 23 hits with 23 strikeouts. These numbers don’t reflect many good things, just yet, but they should improve as long as Benintendi can stay on this streak and continue to improve.

One thing that these numbers don’t show is the stellar performance he put on against the Rays. Benintendi, as mentioned, was directly responsible for one of the wins against the Rays. He had a walk-off home run to help seal a much-needed victory. It was impressive and it helped save the Sox from complete humiliation. Although they still endure that following their series against the Twins.

Can Benintendi Continue to Keep It Up?

As long as Benintendi can continue to play like he has been, it’s the one thing that the White Sox need as they lack consistency. They’re 29th in the majors in batting average (.211), 30th in OBP (.272) and OPS (.597). However, starting a season slowly isn’t new for the nine-year veteran. While power isn’t his focus, he knows what he’s capable of in that particular capacity. He’s been hitting .252 with a .656 OPS since arriving in Chicago.

The walk-off home run he hit against the Rays was the first of his career. It was also the first time a White Sox hitter hit two home runs, including a walk-off home run in the same game. Tyler Flowers last did so on September 8, 2014, against the Oakland Athletics.

Despite the breakout performance of late, the White Sox need help. Benintendi has shown that he can do so, there’s no doubt, but they’ll need more of it.

Main Photo: © Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Bryan Dietzler

Bryan Dietzler

Bryan Dietzler has been writing about sports, both on the internet and in print, for the last 21 years. He started off writing blogs for the Chicago Bears and then began to work his way into print, including magazines, and eventually had his work featured on such sites as NFL.com, Yahoo Sports and NHL.com. In the last three years, Bryan has turned to writing exclusively about baseball and his favorite team to write about is the Chicago White Sox. Since coming to love baseball, Bryan has had a hand in helping to write two books, one about Jackie Robinson and one about Old Yankee Stadium. He is also a part of a future release book about Dodger Stadium and is collaborating on a book about the 2005 Chicago White Sox. In his free time, when he isn't writing or watching baseball, Bryan enjoys fishing and visting family and friends.

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