Andrew Benintendi tops MLB’s top prospect list; two others join him in top-50

We are officially in prospect season. Last week, Keith Law released his top-100 prospects in the game. His list included four Red Sox players, with Sam Travis being the one difference. He also had Andrew Benintendi at number one overall.

Saturday night was the unveiling on MLB.com’s list, which includes input from a number of different evaluators. Jason Groome was the lowest-ranked Red Sox player, coming in at number 41 overall. This is 21 spots lower than he found himself on Keith Law’s list, but differing opinions aren’t overly surprising here. First of all, he fell in the draft due to some vague off-the-field issues, and different evaluators weigh those things very differently. More importantly, he has extremely limited professional experience. It’s hard to come to a consensus based solely on high school scouting reports.

Next was Rafael Devers, who came in at number 17. Once again, this was lower than Law’s ranking, where he came in at number 11. That doesn’t mean the crew on MLB Network wasn’t ready to heap praise on the young third baseman, though. Jim Callis spotlighted Devers during his segment, and mentioned that he’s been overshadowed by playing in a system that’s featured names like Yoan Moncada and Benintendi. Callis predicts this is the year Devers will make a real name for himself.

Finally, Benintendi came in as the best prospect in the game, just like in Law’s list. There’s not much more we can say about Benintendi at this point. He’s incredible.

Perhaps also of note is that four former Red Sox prospects also finished in the top-25. Anderson Espinoza was number 25, Manuel Margot was number 23, Michael Kopech was number 16, and Yoan Moncada was number I2. It’s sad to see guys like that go, but their rankings speak volumes about the organization’s ability to identify and develop talent in recent years.