Benson is an easy player to root for, but likability doesn't pay the bills in Major League Baseball. The clock is ticking and the pressure is on after Benson struck out 40 percent of the time and posted the worst xBA among qualified hitters last season. He showed signs of growth down the stretch in 2023, but the improvements did not stick. Benson hit below .200 in four separate months of the 2024 campaign, never hitting above .220 in any month, and former Reds manager David Bell did nobody any favors by continuing to start him against righties. Still just 26, Benson is a good athlete with immense raw power, but it's unlikely that Cincinnati will put up with that level of swing and miss again in 2025. Read Past Outlooks