Will Benson

Will Benson

24-Year-Old OutfielderOF
Cincinnati Reds
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Benson made his major-league debut in 2022, but he was limited to a reserve role for much of his time with the Guardians. A lackluster .182/.250/.200 slash line over 61 plate appearances contributed to his minimal playing time, as did the Guardians' fairly steady outfield. That lineup logjam won't clear to begin 2023, so Benson is going to have to earn his at-bats. His work in the minors -- .275/.424/.516 slash line, 17 home runs, 16 stolen bases in 89 Triple-A games last year -- is encouraging. He's got the potential to be a useful power/speed threat, but he probably won't hit all that consistently. If his glove is good enough, he could at least challenge Myles Straw for playing time in center field, where Benson would have the platoon advantage. Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
#551
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Reds in March of 2023.
Returns from Triple-A
OFCincinnati Reds
May 26, 2023
Benson was recalled from Triple-A Louisville by the Reds on Friday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Benson has gone just 1-for-25 with 14 strikeouts at the big-league level this season. He could see a little playing time against right-handed pitching.
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Batting Stats
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2023
2022
2023 MLB Game Log
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Scoring
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2022 MLB Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
4
3
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2021
 
 
+128%
OPS vs RHP
2023
 
 
-100%
OPS vs RHP
2022
 
 
+187%
OPS vs RHP
2021
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2021vs Left .167 6 2 0 0 0 .000 .167 .000
Since 2021vs Right .381 82 6 0 3 0 .158 .210 .171
2023vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Right .188 27 0 0 0 0 .077 .111 .077
2022vs Left .167 6 2 0 0 0 .000 .167 .000
2022vs Right .479 55 6 0 3 0 .200 .259 .220
2021vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2021
 
 
+74%
OPS on Road
2023
 
 
-100%
OPS on Road
2022
 
 
+22%
OPS on Road
2021
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2021Home .297 60 4 0 1 0 .109 .169 .127
Since 2021Away .516 28 4 0 2 0 .231 .286 .231
2023Home .000 17 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
2023Away .522 10 0 0 0 0 .222 .300 .222
2022Home .422 43 4 0 1 0 .158 .238 .184
2022Away .513 18 4 0 2 0 .235 .278 .235
2021Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Will Benson compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.07
 
BB Rate
3.7%
 
K Rate
51.9%
 
BABIP
.167
 
ISO
.000
 
AVG
.077
 
OBP
.111
 
SLG
.077
 
OPS
.188
 
wOBA
.091
 
Exit Velocity
81.1 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
16.7%
 
Barrels/PA
3.7%
 
Expected BA
.131
 
Expected SLG
.224
 
Sprint Speed
24.7 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
50.0%
 
Line Drive %
16.7%
 
Fly Ball %
33.3%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2020
2018
2017
Benson hit .180 at Low-A in 2018 and hit .189 at High-A to close out 2019. In between, he slashed .272/.371/.604 with a 172 wRC+ as a 20-year-old at Low-A. He had a .332 ISO in the Midwest League, showing off his top tool -- 70-grade power. He also has at least above-average speed, racking up 27 steals on 31 attempts across the two stops. Even at his worst, Benson walks at least 12% of the time, so a high strikeout rate isn't a death sentence for him, as he proved while he was the Midwest League's best hitter in the first half last year (30.1 K%). The last time he repeated a level, he took that league by storm. He will try to reprise that feat this year in the Carolina League. Of all the tooled-up outfield prospects who probably won't hit enough to be big-league regulars, Benson may have the highest upside, and unlike many, his tools have actually showed up in games above rookie ball.
Nothing has changed regarding Benson's ceiling, which is still among the highest in the minors. He fell to the Indians with the No. 14 pick in 2016 because of widespread concerns about his hit tool, and so far those concerns have been validated. Consider, however, that he hit .238 and struck out 33.9 percent of the time and was still the fifth best hitter (146 wRC+) in the New York-Penn League. This speaks to his prodigious raw power (he led the league with 10 home runs and a .238 ISO) and his patience (13.1 percent walk rate). He was also the youngest hitter in the league, and won't turn 20 until June. Benson is a good runner for his size (6-foot-5, 225 pounds), but he is unlikely to be much of a threat on the bases when he reaches the majors. Even when he is struggling, he demonstrates good body language and reportedly has an excellent work ethic, so there are reasons to believe that this is a player who will continue to improve each season.
One could argue Benson has the most upside from the entire 2016 draft class. The potential for plus-plus power and average speed was enough for the Indians to pop him with the No. 14 pick, despite significant questions about his hit tool. Benson is a 6-foot-5, 225-pound giant of a man, and yet he is barely a man -- he will not turn 19 until June. It is possible, however, that the physical dimensions that make his power potential so intriguing will also prevent him from ever actualizing that power against upper-level pitching. His long levers and musclebound upper body currently prevent him from making consistent contact. He hit .209 and struck out 32.6 percent of the time in the Arizona League, but was still an above-average hitter (112 wRC+) thanks to his power (.215 ISO) and patience (12 percent walk rate). Benson is a lottery ticket, plain and simple. It is unlikely that he will reach the majors before 2021, even under the best circumstances.
More Fantasy News
Optioned back to Triple-A
OFCincinnati Reds
May 23, 2023
Cincinnati optioned Benson to Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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Back in big leagues
OFCincinnati Reds
May 20, 2023
Benson was recalled by the Reds on Saturday, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
ANALYSIS
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Optioned to Louisville
OFCincinnati Reds
April 13, 2023
Benson was optioned to Triple-A Louisville on Thursday.
ANALYSIS
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Out of Saturday's lineup
OFCincinnati Reds
April 8, 2023
Benson is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Phillies.
ANALYSIS
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Sits amid 0-for-12 start
OFCincinnati Reds
April 5, 2023
Benson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.
ANALYSIS
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