I found it very interesting to discover that Carson Benge has already accumulated 3 Outs Above Average (OAA) this year across three different outfield positions. Benge, who is in his rookie season with the New York Mets, has brought fielding excellence to a team that went to considerable lengths during the off-season to improve their defense.
Typically, a team would like to ease a rookie into position by providing some stability and a cast of players around him for support. This season, it has been anything but that. Between the poor hitting up and down the lineup and the fragility of the Mets’ outfielders, Benge has had very little support at all. He has shown that he is up to the task nonetheless.
So far this season, Benge has played left field in 13 games, right field in 12 games, and center field in 4 games. Over those games, he has accumulated 56 total chances and made 54 put-outs for a fielding percentage of .964. His speed and range have contributed to stellar numbers in the advanced metrics with the 3 OAA and 2 runs prevented. His OAA numbers rank him fourth among MLB outfielders, and second in the NL behind Pete Crow-Armstrong. Baseball Savant ranks him in the 94th percentile for his range, 93rd percentile for his arm strength, and 91st percentile for his sprint speed. This equates to a superb defender across all outfield positions – and he has only just begun.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Savant
Carson Benge is having a little more trouble adjusting at the plate, getting off to a slow start with only a .188 batting average to date. Benge has adjusted to the pitching at every level he has encountered in his baseball career, and the analytics are saying that he should be able to adjust at this level also. He already has above average numbers for chase rate, whiff rate, and hard hit balls, and his average exit velocity of 91.1MPH is pretty impressive considering his low barrel %. Once he has become accustomed to seeing the stuff that MLB pitchers can deliver, the barrel %, exit velocity, and hitting stats should begin to climb.
He may be the biggest bright spot for a team that continues to struggle to find its mojo on the field. His steady play in the midst of the environment of turmoil caused by the club’s failings is a testament to his mental fortitude. If and when this team picks up and the confidence builds, I expect to see Carson rise to new levels of performance that will have him ranked among the top rookies in the league.
7 comments:
Benge will be very good. I would love to see Morabito and Ewing called up by Memorial Day.
I think that the trio of Benge, Morabito, and Ewing would be a very dynamic outfield and fun to watch. They all have speed and great baseball instincts. Unfortunately, if we see all of them up by Memorial Day, it will indicate that the tent is folded for 2026.
Fold the tent - ASAP
You may see Morabito this weekend if Robert goes on the IL
The tent has collapsed. All that remains is folding it.
I predict the Mets sign Grichuk.
Two related comments. I think a lot about projecting performance, and if there is one thing that this season has suggested is that while it may be harder to project performance at the major league level for prospects, it isn't really very much easier to project it year to year for most players at the major league level either.
And again, not just harping on a point I have made too often already, but am I the only one who sees just how poor Alvarez's sequencing is and what the outcome of that is and will continue to be. He hit a lot of homers when the pitchers didn't yet see the vulnerabilities his sequencing and impatience create. Once they did, they have in effect shut him down .
Mack, do you think you could get someone in the FO to have a look at the video I created of the consequences of his sequencing on his path, plate coverage, etc.. He's a catcher, he is trained to recognize ball movement, or should be. So it is a reasonable hypothesis that his incredible swing and miss on the same pitches has something to do with his mechanics. Again, a lab is just data, if you don't understand movement and its consequences. All swings involve a mix of steeps and shallows, extensions and flexions, supination and pronation, recruiting energy and transfering it and properly releasing it in a particular direction depending on your intentions. If you don't understand how to do this relatively efficiently and consistently Alvarez is what you end up with. There has to be someone in the organization who understands this.
The injuries he suffered last year contributed -- last year, but people were both too quick and too optimistic to think that that was the source of the problem.
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