From a breakout to a bust, Benson’s confusing first two seasons have left many Reds fans writing him off as minor league depth. While I think they are closer to right than wrong, the tools will always leave a sliver of hope.

As enticing as he may be, Cincinnati cannot keep waiting and hoping Benson puts it all together. An ascending (hopefully) team will need to move on sooner or later, which makes 2025 a make-or-break year for Will Benson.

What Has Gone Wrong for Will Benson?

Let’s go ahead and address the biggest issue and what might ultimately determine if Benson is a 20+ home run hitter or in the KBO in three seasons — the strikeouts. Benson has struck out an alarming 35.5% of the time since entering the league, with his strikeout rate increasing from 2023 to 2024.

If there’s such a thing as good news with strikeouts, it’s that Benson does not chase. You know the videos of Javy Baez swinging at a slider four feet out of the zone and in the dirt? You will not see that with Benson. In fact, his eye for the zone is a reason why his value can still be positive, but more on that later.

Benson’s issue has been making contact. His 39.7% strikeout rate and 39% whiff rate were both hovering at the bottom of the league in 2024, and the reason was swinging and missing at balls in the strike zone. Last season, Benson’s in-zone contact rate was 68.4%, significantly below the league average of 82%.

When you are swinging and missing so much more than the average and your weakness is pitching…in the strike zone…red alerts start to go off. A player like Benson, whose power carries a significant portion of his value, needs to be taking advantage of mistake pitches instead of swinging through them.