KC Royals: Top 3 midseason overperformers revisited

Andrew Benintendi proved to be an offseason steal for the KC Royals.

When Kansas City acquired Andrew Benintendi from Boston in a February trade between the Royals, Red Sox and Mets, some questioned the cost—the Royals sent Franchy Cordero (and later two minor leaguers to complete the deal) to Boston and Khalil Lee to New York. But while Benintendi starred for KC, Cordero spent part of the year in the minors and hit .189 for the Sox, and Lee played only 11 games for the Mets and hit .056.

The Royals owned the trade.

Benintendi started slowly but caught fire in May, hitting .340 with three home runs and 10 RBIs. He continued his great play well into June until he fractured a rib.

The injury caused him to struggle at the plate when he came back in July. His .189 average that month dropped his overall average to .259. August proved pivotal as he began to heat up. It was a prelude to a white hot September and October when Benintendi slashed .342/.398/.570 with five home runs and a fantastic 27 RBIs.

Although his defensive numbers may not be on par with what Kansas City fans were used to seeing from Alex Gordon, Benintendi has more than shown he is a suitable replacement in the field and at the plate for Gordon.