Samuel Adam Benschoter (born March 17, 1998) is an American professional baseballpitcher in the Cincinnati Reds organization. He is currently a phantom ballplayer, having spent three days on the Reds' active roster without appearing in a game.
Benschoter signed with the Cincinnati Reds as an undrafted free agent on August 1, 2021,[2] and split his first professional season between the rookie-level Arizona Complex League Reds and Single-A Daytona Tortugas. He split the 2022 season between the ACL Reds, Daytona, the High-A Dayton Dragons, and Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts. In 22 appearances (17 starts) for the four affiliates, Benschoter compiled a 4–6 record and 4.73 ERA with 118 strikeouts over 78 innings of work.[3]
Benschoter made 27 starts for Double-A Chattanooga in 2023, struggling to a 7–12 record and 7.28 ERA with 140 strikeouts across 123+2⁄3 innings pitched.[4] He split the 2024 season between Chattanooga and the Triple-A Louisville Bats, registering a combined 4–5 record and 4.33 ERA with 101 strikeouts in 104 innings of work across 33 games (11 starts).[5] Benschoter played for the United States national baseball team in the 2024 WBSC Premier12.[6]
On July 1, 2025, Benschoter was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[7] He was optioned to the Triple-ALouisville Bats on July 4, without making an appearance for the Reds.[8] On August 8, Benschoter was promoted for a second time.[9] However, he again failed to appear for Cincinnati and was optioned to Louisville on August 13.[10] On November 6, Benschoter was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Triple-A Louisville.[11]
Personal life
Benschoter's father, Adam, also played professional baseball.[2]
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