Cincinnati Reds outfielder Will Benson reflected on his 2023 season to break recent slump

Last weekend, after one of the Cincinnati Reds’ wins over the Los Angeles Angels, Reds manager David Bell stood with a few coaches as Reds outfielder Will Benson high-fived his teammates to celebrate a win.

In that moment, a Reds coach said about Benson, “That guy just makes my day.”

Bell didn’t realize until later that Benson didn’t even have any hits that day.

“That comes with a really deep level of confidence in who he is,” Bell said. “That’s all going to serve him well. When he’s going through little dips as a player, he’ll use it the right way and find ways to get better because I don’t even think he’s close to who he’s going to become as a player.”

During a recent five-game stretch, Benson had the longest slump of his career and went 0-for-18. He broke that spell with a base hit on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, Benson homered in the third inning and provided the go-ahead RBI single in the sixth inning in a 7-4 win for the Reds over the Philadelphia Phillies.

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Last April, the Reds had to option Benson to Triple-A because he was lost at the plate. Because of what he figured out after that stretch, he has a different perspective when he’s not getting results at the plate.

“I learned from last year,” Benson said. “I can either go in a shell and panic, or I can take it one pitch and one game at a time and just try to learn from the failure and the process. I know that I’m a good baseball player. My OK day is still a pretty good day. I can still compete with the best of them.”

After he got sent down last year, Benson developed a new plan at the plate. He changed his pregame preparation, got better at studying pitchers and gained the ability to make effective adjustments on a pitch-to-pitch basis.

That process elevated Benson’s game to another level. Now, he’s a 25-year-old center fielder with impressive power, a great eye at the plate and blazing speed.

“Will is still trending up as a player,” Bell said. “That’s going to be going on for a long time. There will be little dips. But his level of focus and confidence, it’s really off the charts.”

The remaining weak spots in Benson’s game are his swings and misses and his strikeouts. Heading into Tuesday’s game, he struck out in over 35% of his at-bats and was swinging and missing much more often than most hitters.

Recently, when Benson went 0-for-18 with eight strikeouts, his teammates were impressed with how he handled the worst statistical stretch of his career.

“He doesn’t let the game impact who he is,” Reds outfielder Stuart Fairchild said. “He’s just a professional who goes about it the right way every day.”

Following Wednesday’s game, Benson had a .203 batting average and a below average .733 OPS. When he’s not doing damage at the plate, Benson has found more ways this year to impact the game.

His big focus this offseason was improving his defense. As he got ready for the year, he studied every pitcher on the Reds’ staff. He analyzed the different types of contact that different pitchers on the Reds’ staff generate against different styles of hitters.

Last year, Benson felt flat footed at times in the outfield. To improve his reaction time and his first step, he got better at predicting what was going to happen in specific situations.

The work paid off on Wednesday with two outs, two runners on base and the Reds up by a run. Reds reliever Fernando Cruz got to two strikes against Phillies pinch-hitter Brandon Marsh, and Benson adjusted his position.

“I was anticipating an off-speed pitch,” Benson said. “I knew he’d pull it or chip it. He pulled it. I was ready for it.”

Marsh crushed a deep fly ball to left field, but Benson made the catch to end the inning.

Benson’s progress on defense has been as significant as anyone on the team. With Benson in center field, Bell has the ability to get the Reds’ best hitters in the lineup on a more regular basis.

Benson is still younger than some of the Reds’ top prospects. He keeps adding to his game, and his approach impresses Bell the most.

“He has so much to share individually as a player on the field,” Bell said. “Also with the people around him.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How Reds OF Will Benson stayed consistent through 0-for-18 slump