Out of all the major sports, Major League Baseball is by far the most developmental. Depending on the player, most prospects go through rookie league, Class A, High Class A, Double-A, Triple-A, before, if they can trump each of those levels, finally making it to the Show.
However, on occasion, a top prospect can make an unexpected jump, like from Double-A to the majors.
Andrew Benintendi became the latest prospect to make the big jump, earning a call-up on Monday night. He was promoted straight from the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs to the Boston Red Sox, bypassing Triple-A Pawtucket. Red Sox prospects have not had a lot of success in recent years when making this jump. Benintendi, the seventh-overall pick in the 2015 draft, is looking to buck this trend, as he makes his first MLB start on Wednesday night, a day after he went 0-2 as a pinch-hitter in Boston's 5-4 loss, his MLB debut.
Sox prospects that made 'The Jump'
Benintendi is certainly not the first Red Sox prospect to make this jump. He is the first since Jackie Bradley Jr, and the first in-season promotion from Portland since Josh Reddick in 2009. Neither of those outfielders had success their first time around in Boston. In 2009, Reddick played 27 games and hit a meek .169. He was up and down between Boston the next season as well, playing in 29 games and batting just .180. He finally pulled it together in 2011, batting .280. Boston traded him while his value was high, shipping him to the Oakland Athletics, where he posted solid numbers, but nothing spectacular.
Bradley ended the 2012 season with Portland, and started 2013 in the Opening Day lineup for the Red Sox. The jump was too tough for Bradley, who hit .189 in 37 games that season for Boston. He wasn't much improved when given regular playing time in 2014, hitting a miserable .198 in 127 games. He was on his way to equally miserable numbers in 2015, before a late hot streak boosted his average over fifty points, giving him a .249 clip on the season. He's finally proved himself a reliable starter this season, hitting .292 and earning his first All-Star appearance.
Justin Masterson made the jump in 2008, and, although he had a solid first season, he had little in the way of success after that. He posted a 3.16 ERA as a reliever and spot-starter for the Sox, but that mark turned out to be a career-low for Masterson, who pitched mostly for the Cleveland Indians, as well as the St. Louis Cardinals, before ending up back in Boston in 2015. He has not pitched in the majors in 2016, spending most of the season in Triple-A, in the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization.
David Pauley was another Sox pitcher to make the big jump from Double-A to the majors, doing so in 2006. It did not pan out well for Pauley, who was shellacked over three starts in 2006 to the tune of a 7.88 ERA. He failed to make it back to the majors in 2007, but returned to Boston in 2008 and, over six appearances, he accumulated a 11.68 ERA, signaling the end of his Boston career. He bounced around with four other teams, retiring in 2012.
Devern Hansack had an excellent start with Boston after his call-up in 2006, but his success was short-lived. He made two starts for the big club in 2006, earning a 2.70 ERA. After that, he made just seven more major league appearances and was out of baseball by 2009. Certainly the Red Sox want more out of Benintendi than that.
Class A to the Majors in one year: Michael Conforto, now Benintendi
Not only did Benintendi make the rare jump from Double-A to the majors, he also falls under an extremely rare category of prospects who went from Class A to the majors in just one season. Although it is a rare occurence, New York Mets' outfielder Michael Conforto did it last season, playing 56 games for the Mets in 2015. He too made the jump from Double-A to the majors. Conforto hit .270 with the big club, and ended up playing in the World Series that season, going 5-15 with 4 RBI and two home runs in the Fall Classic. Conforto, a tenth overall pick, has struggled this season with his batting average, hitting just .228, but it's too early to tell how Conforto's career while go.
None of these players' careers dictate how Benintendi will do this season with Boston, or in his future seasons. People will jump from one extreme to the other, taking any sign of struggles on the part of Benintendi, or sign of success, ot say that Benintendi's career was ruined by his quick call-up, or to say that he is the savior of Boston's season. For all Red Sox fans, they will hope the past prospects that made the same jump as Benintendi has made aren't a sign of what is to come for Benintendi. His call-up isn't like that of Mookie Betts, who was called up in 2014 during a last-place season for Boston. Benintendi has been brought into the thick of a playoff race, as Boston looks to secure a division title. They will look to Benintendi to produce quickly.
Can he do it?