Cleveland Indians prospect Will Benson hit four home runs for Class-A Lake County on Thursday night.
He’s the first minor leaguer to hit four homers in a game since 2014, when Yankees prospect Mike Ford hit four for Class-A Charleston and Diamondbacks prospect Jon Griffin also accomplished the feat for Mobile in Double-A.
Benson opened the night with a two-run homer in the first inning, added a solo shot in the third, and followed that up with a grand slam in the fourth. He capped his big night with another solo homer to lead off the sixth.
“Once I hit it, I was like, ‘Wow, that’s incredible,'” Benson told MILB.com. “I was just thanking God all around the bases. … I’m just very thankful and blessed to go out there and do that. I don’t want to say it was a dream come true, but it’s something that you’ll never forget.”
He had a chance to make it five homers when he got up again in the eighth, but he struck out swinging to finish 4-for-5 with eight RBIs in Lake County’s 12-6 win over the South Bend Cubs.
Benson was the Indians’ first-round pick in the 2016 draft but has yet to become a consistent hitter. He hit only .180 last year in his first full pro season, though he did smash 22 home runs.