South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 12: Benyamin Bailey

Benyamin Bailey

Left Fielder
6´4´´
215 pounds
Age: 19
SSS rank among all left fielders in the system: 1
2021 SSS Top Prospect Vote: 14
2020 SSHP Top Prospect Ranking: 26

Benyamin Bailey, a native of Panama, received a minimal signing bonus from the White Sox on April 27, 2019, with literally no fanfare. However, by the time he ended his first professional season, Bailey was the best-known prospect on the entire DSL roster.

In 55 games totaling 185 at-bats, Bailey slashed an incredible .324/.477/.454 with 12 doubles, three triples, two homers, 19 RBIs, 52 walks (21.4%), 40 strikeouts (16.5%) and 10 stolen bases. Bailey’s OBP was hovering around .500 for most of the year, before a late-season slump dropped him to .477. With that said, Bailey still led the league in that department and was near the top in walks and OPS as well. In most cases, the DSL leaders are either returning players and/or much older than the league average; Bailey’s case amazes in that it was his first year in professional ball, and he was about six months younger than his competition.

While it’s likely that he won’t steal in the double digits going forward due to his size, on the flip side Bailey’s size should enable him to hit the long ball. In the meantime, his batting eye and hitting prowess have certainly earned him the opportunity to play ball for either the AZL Sox in 2021, with a possible quick promotion to Kannapolis.