8/14 ML Gameday Thread: Buttrey headlines the Friday slate

3. Andrew Benintendi, cf, Red Sox

Team: short-season Lowell (New York-Penn)
Age: 21
Why He’s Here: .407/.484/.815 (11-for-27), 5 R, 1 3B, 3 HR, 3 RBIs, 4 BB, 1 SO, 1-for-1 SB

Benintendi, the reigning Golden Spikes Award winner, continued his assault on the New York-Penn League with three more home runs to bring his total to seven in just 32 games. The Red Sox envision their 2015 first-rounder as a player in the mold of Jacoby Ellsbury, with the ability to hit for average and power with a good dose of speed and defense thrown in.

5. Anderson Espinoza, rhp, Red Sox

Team: Rookie-level GCL Red Sox (Gulf Coast)
Age: 17
Why He’s Here: 0-0, 0.00, 2 GS, 8 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO

Put Espinoza in the 2015 draft and he’s one of the first pitchers off the board. The Dodgers recently paid $32 million between the signing bonus and 100 percent overage tax to sign 19-year-old Cuban righthander Yadier Alvarez, and Espinoza is more talented than him, according to international scouts. With a fastball that sits in the mid-90s, a plus curveball and feel for a changeup that gives him another potential above-average weapon, Espinoza’s stuff across the board is outstanding. An easy delivery and feel for pitching well beyond his years mark him as a special talent.